The King of Street Fighters
by Zero-Sennin
Summary: Warriors from all over the globe have battled to prove their worthiness to compete in Chiryu City. However, foes from the past and present now await them as they prepare to battle. SFKoF crossover. Set after SF3:TS & KOFXI.
1. China Vox: Blood on the Asphalt

The King of Street Fighters

A SF/KoF fanfic

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 1- China Vox: Blood on the Asphalt

As the many pedestrians and bikers made their way down the Hong Kong sidewalks, the sound of footsteps and bike bells mingled with the loud cries of vendors and the honks of cars caught in the mid-morning traffic. Any inhabitant of the city was used to this discordant symphony, and, in a strange way, expected it. However, one woman seemed to be a bothered by it, and as she strode down the streets, carefully examining a piece of paper with an address written in Chinese characters, she looked up occasionally, her cool blue eyes combing her surroundings thoroughly; anyone that met that gaze, even for a moment, momentarily shivered before looking away as fast as possible.

Aside from that frosty stare, the woman in question was fairly attractive. Her blond hair was tied into two thin, plaited pigtails that trailed down her back. A long, semi-thick forelock hung down in front of her right eye, moving slightly as she strode down the sidewalk; a smaller, thinner strand of hair hung above her left eyebrow. A thin scar ran from the left side of her jawline to the middle of her left cheek. She was dressed in a simple, white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, with plain white sneakers finishing up her wardrobe.

After walking for quite some time, the woman stopped, sighing as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd been looking for the address on her paper for quite some time, and was rather irritated that she couldn't seem to find it after the better part of an hour. She knew for sure that she had written it down properly after first looking it up, and yet... Mumbling a string of curses, she rolled her shoulders and let her eyes wander around, making sure that she hadn't missed her target; once she was finished, she grumbled glumly, "I guess I did miss it after all."

Then, rather suddenly, she felt a hand on her back, and she turned her head sharply to see who had touched her; to her surprise, she found herself staring into the brown eyes of Chun-Li Chung, one of Interpol's most decorated officers.

"Where'd you come from?" she asked, her voice tight and irate. "I've been looking for your place all day..."

Chun-Li chuckled lightly, brushing her cleanly-cut brunette bangs away from her eyes and lifting her hand from the blond's shoulder. "I'm surprised, Cammy," she replied breezily. "I didn't know that you had such a poor sense of direction."

Cammy humphed noisily and folded her arms, tilting her head slightly as she looked over her old rival. Instead of the blue _qipao_ she was known for, Chun-Li was bedecked in a loose blue jogging suit, with yellow trim on the sleeves. Her running shoes were colored to match, and her normal spiked armbands had been swapped for two plain blue wristbands.

"What's with that outfit? Don't tell me you gave up street fighting and your Interpol career to run track..."

"Not quite... I take care of children now, and we jog in the morning. Keeping pace with them in my usual garb isn't all that fun. Plus, I figured it was time for a wardrobe change; it helps to keep me motivated these days."

Cammy smiled wryly and fingered her scar with her thumb, one of her eyebrows lifting slightly. "So... do you want to share the reason for this reunion? I don't get many vacations now that I'm one of MI6's most active officers, and getting here ate up a good chunk of my free time."

Chun-Li let off a chuckling sigh, and adjusted the silk covering on one of her twin "ox-horn" hair buns before saying, "There's a big tournament coming up...bigger than the World Warrior tournaments. I need the prize money to keep taking care of these children, especially since my local police work only gets me a bit of money. I would've been allowed to enter alone, but so much is riding on this that I would rather not risk it. So I called up the world's second-strongest woman to propose a team-up, and here you are. Now...the only question is whether you'll accept or not. Are you in?"

"I bet you're _really_ into this because Ryu might show up," Cammy teased. "But what the hey...I'll play along."

"Whether Ryu is going to be there or not has nothing to do with this," Chun-Li stated quickly, trying to hide the blush in her cheeks. "Now let's figure out who our third member's going to be..."

"Hang on a minute... didn't you just mention those sweet little kids you were taking care of? If you and I enter this thing, who's going to take care of them?"

"I'll..call on...some favors. No problem."

Cammy snorted derisively and pulled Chun-Li into a headlock, twisting her middle finger's knuckle on the brunette's skull. "Some responsible mother you are! 'I'll call in a few favors,' indeed! What the bloody hell are you thinking?"

"I'm not a child," Chun-Li retorted, suppressing a giggle or two as she tried to free herself from Cammy's grip. "So quit it with the noogie and let's get back to the matter at hand!"

Smirking, Cammy let go of Chun-Li's head, put her hands up in a gesture of mock surrender, and walked off quickly, humming a cheery tune as Chun-Li sped to catch up with her.

"You're not funny, you know that?! Slow down, damn it! We seriously need to think about our third teammate; prelims for the tournament start in a week!"

"That's more than enough time. Just be cool...everything will work out."

"Not if we don't actively do something to _make_ things work out..."

"You really haven't aged well...you're twice as bossy as you used to be."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

And so, the steady stream of banter between the British MI6 agent and the Chinese supercop continued as the latter pursued the former down the street, neither permitting the other to have the last word...yet, despite the ferocity of their exchange, they sounded less like bitter rivals, and more like old friends reunited after years of painfully boring separation.

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Author's Note (10/10/07): Well, this is the first serious fanfic I've written. And though the "crossover" promised in the description hasn't come yet, I assure you that it will be established. Personal issues, however, are keeping me from actively updating as I would like. So R&R for what you can, please, and hang in there.

-Zero-Sennin


	2. Kusanagi Rock: Become the Storm, part 1

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 2- Kusanagi Rock: Become the Storm (part 1)

As Cammy and Chun-Li reunited in China, a man was walking into Southtown, USA, in the embrace of a moonlit night. He carried only a white duffel bag, filled only with items for use in intercontinental travel. The soles of his shoeless feet were leathered and tough from years of use, and the rest of his body was well-built and strong. As he surveyed the city, he tightened the sparring gloves he wore on his hands; the sounds of violent incidents occurring all over the city were impossible to miss, despite the late hour.

_It'd be best if I found a hotel now and looked around this place in the morning, _he thought as he stifled a yawn. _If some random punk snuck up on me, I'd probably be too tired to actually fight back._

After tightening the strings of his duffel bag, he continued walking, his feet thudding heavily on the pavement as he went on his way.

* * *

By the next morning, he had already showered, dressed, and hit the streets, leaving his bag in a corner of his hotel room and a tip on the unmade bed for the cleaning maid. The stolid quiet of the night had already been driven off by music booming from apartment windows, and young toughs had begun to cruise the streets. One or two shot scrying glances at the man, but once they saw his long-tailed red headband and fairly large muscles, they quickly redirected their eyes.

Eventually, following a semi-long search, he arrived at the place that he was seeking. It was a traditional Japanese dojo, slightly elevated above ground level with wooden sliding doors. However, they were, at the present, sealed up, and for good reason; two men were brawling incessantly in front of it. One, a blond with spiky hair, was punching rapidly at a twenty-something guy in a brown bomber jacket, faded blue jeans, and jet-black shoes. Unfortunately, the latter fighter was taking the blows aimed at him head-on, and eventually took a devastating right to the face that sent him sprawling to the ground.

With a satisfied grin, the blonde straightened his orange gi and said smugly, "What's wrong? Don't tell me the great Kyo Kusanagi has lost his edge..."

Growling angrily, Kyo got up quickly, dusted dirt out of his brown hair, and wiped away a thin streak of blood on the side of his mouth.

"Don't try me!" he spat angrily. "You think your Kyokugen style is so ridiculously great, don't you? Well, you'd better watch it, Ryo, or I'll burn a hole in that swelled head of yours!"

Unperturbed by Kyo's threats, Ryo cracked his knuckles jovially and drew his black belt tighter on his waist; then, he noticed the man in the white gi nearby, and quickly strode over to him.

"I'm Ryo Sakazaki, heir to the Kyokugen-ryuu martial arts," Ryo stated as he shook the other man's hand. "You must be Ryu Hoshi. Nice to meet you at last."

"It's good to meet you too," Ryu replied. "I must admit, though...it's been a while since I've heard my own last name. Traveling on the ground in this country...you don't really use a passport all that much."

Ryo blinked. "On foot? Wow. I mean, I'd been hearing rumors that you were in the US somewhere, but traveling on foot? Pretty amazing. What really surprises me, though, is that you'd choose to come here, to Southtown. I mean, I'm sure you've noticed that it's not the best of places to hang around idly in."

Ryu shrugged and scratched his slightly messy black hair. "I'm not one to worry about things like that, really. I just go to places where I can find a good fight, and today, I think I've found two. Would you or your friend Kyo be willing to spar?"

"He's not my friend," Kyo mumbled indignantly before Ryo could reply.

Slightly irritated, Ryo shot Kyo an irate glare and mentally prepared a flippant comeback. However, the dojo's doors flew open before he could speak, and a brown-haired girl poked her head out.

"Hey, Ryo! Don't tell me you're actually gonna fight with Ryu Hoshi without letting me and Dad see!" she yelled indignantly. "We're your family, we'd never be ashamed by a crippling loss of yours!"

"Mind your own business, Yuri," Ryo groused tiredly. "Besides, if I let dear old Pops watch every fight I got into, he'd start pretending to be the all-mighty tengu-themed justice deliverer, Mr. Karate. Then he'd try pulling off a Haoh Shokoken...and pull a muscle instead."

"I can't believe you!" a gruff voice hollered from the dojo's interior. "Talking so cruelly about your old man! Just for that, I'm gonna come out there and laugh mockingly when Ryu feeds you a piping-hot knuckle sandwich! But first, we need drinks. Go get some, son. Now."

Ryo groaned and stepped up into the dojo, easing past his sister with feigned resignation; once he had passed, she stepped down, closed the doors, and turned to face Ryu with an impish smile on her face.

"I'm Yuri. Nice to meet you."

Ryu nodded. "The pleasure's all mine." He looked her over briefly, noting her tressed pigtail that ended at the small of her back, as well as her dark-bluish T-shirt and matching leggings. Interestingly, her classic red Chuck Taylors had some unique swirling white designs on them.

"I like your sneakers."

Yuri blinked, then blushed, shrugging nonchalantly to mask it. "They were a present...from an old friend."

Seeing Yuri's reaction, Ryu respectfully let the subject drop, and turned to look at the dojo.

_Standing in front of this dojo reminds me so much of my youth...training with Ken, learning from Master Gouken... _he mused mentally. _I wonder if I'll ever settle like he did...and actually teach Ansatsuken to others._

His reverie was interrupted suddenly by the sound of someone clearing their throat, followed by two irate taps on his right shoulder from behind; shaking off the nostalgia, Ryu turned around, and found himself staring Kyo dead in the eyes.

"...Ryu, is it?" he asked coolly. "Mind if I take you up on that sparring offer? That wuss Ryo couldn't scratch you in a million years, and it's gonna take him just as long to actually win a competition... I, on the other hand, am always ready to rumble...and have won most of the King of Fighters tournaments."

Though a bit bothered by Kyo's smug pronunciations, Ryu was otherwise unbothered, and nodded. "You've got yourself a fight...Kyo Kusanagi."

Kyo smirked in response, then rolled his shoulders and took a few steps back. After a quick bout of stretching, he raised his pointer finger in front of his face, and to Ryu's astonishment, a flame hovered above it for a few moments before going out.

"Ready to get burned?"

_Looks like he can back up his bravado..._ Ryu confirmed to himself. _In that case, I'm not gonna hold back..._

With practiced ease, the black-haired warrior assumed his usual firm stance, and replied earnestly, "You haven't seen fire yet, friend."

* * *

Author's Notes (10/25/07): Well, I hope you enjoyed reading Chapter 2. Sorry it took so long to write, but free time is a luxury for me, and I have a tendency to waste it a lot. That, and OpenOffice decided to get really retarded the last time I was typing this up.

Next update: ...Lord knows.

-Zero-Sennin


	3. Kusanagi Rock: Become the Storm, part 2

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic

Written by Zero-Sennin

* * *

Chapter 3 – Kusanagi Rock: Become the Storm (part 2)

As Ryu stared analytically at Kyo, he assessed him with a seasoned eye. Despite the younger fighter's earlier loss, he was still eager, energetic, and cautious; his vitals were being defended by the shuffle that made up his fighting stance.

_Looks like I'll have to figure out a weakness on the fly and exploit it, _Ryu mused. _In that case…I'd better start off right._

With no warning, Ryu leaped into the air and shot a powerful kick at Kyo's head; Kyo countered with a defensive push that knocked the attack off course, followed by a punch that struck Ryu in the stomach and sent him towards the ground. At the last moment, Ryu tucked into a forward roll and recovered, landing on his feet in a crouching position. With a grunt, he rushed low at Kyo, then swung his fist up and into Kyo's gut, then pushed up off of the ground, taking both of them into the air. As they ascended, Ryu let his fist slide up Kyo's body, and at the peak of the jump, it met Kyo's chin resoundingly, sending him farther up into the air. His headband-wearing opponent then fell back towards the ground, exclaiming "SHORYUKEN!" as he did.

…_Amazing…_ Yuri thought as she watched Kyo hit the ground with a loud THUMP and an agonized groan to match. _I thought Ryu would have gone for a sweeping kick, but to pull off an uppercut so flawlessly and quickly…_

Sucking in a large amount of breath and trying to ignore the new, raw pain in his back, Kyo got to his feet, a determined, grim look on his face.

"You're good," he admitted to Ryu. "No doubt about it. But I'm no pushover, got it? I'll treat you the way I would treat any other fighter. Even if it kills me, I'll go down fighting!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," came the reply.

Kyo grinned, cracked his knuckles, and dashed at Ryu, keeping his body low to the ground. Ryu responded with a quick crouch followed by a forward-thrusting kick, only to be momentarily dizzied by a knee colliding with his face. Before he could recover, Kyo grabbed him by the throat and choke-slammed him to the ground, followed by a flame-laced punch to the chest.

Ryu's vision swum momentarily; everything blurred together in undecipherable chaos. However, a quick intake of breath cleared everything up, and he admitted irately that he had let himself get suckered. _What matters now_, he decided, _is how I respond._

In a smooth, practiced movement, Ryu rolled forward, maneuvering past a rising Kyo. As the brown-haired fighter quickly whirled around to stop Ryu's next attacks, he received an elbow to the gut, two jabs two the face, and a hard side kick aimed at his ribs; barely dodging the last allowed Kyo to smack Ryu in the face with a straight flaming punch, which was followed by another punch with his other hand and a kick to the nose. This powerful counterattack salvo knocked Ryu straight to the ground and allowed Kyo a moment to catch his break.

"Gotcha there, eh, superstar?" Kyo quipped snidely, brushing some stray dirt off of his clothing. "If you want, I'll ease up on you!"

In reply, Ryu got to his feet, smacked his fist into his palm, and tightened his headband and belt before shooting Kyo a look that would've made water run backwards.

"All right," he pronounced gravely. "No more holding back, Kyo; the gloves are off."

With that, he brought his hands to one side of his body, holding one above the other to leave a fair amount of space between them.

Kyo, watching these preparations disinterestedly, humphed once and plastered on a smug grin before rushing at Ryu, sweeping a hand behind him and gathering flame in its palm.

At this point, Ryo returned from the dojo, drinks on a plate in one hand, with his father, a brown-haired man in an off-white gi, following him. Upon seeing Ryu and Kyo's upcoming clash, both tensed up suddenly, Ryo clenching his free fist in anticipation of what was coming next; Yuri, noticing this, looked at her brother with curiosity and a little apprehension for a time before turning back to the battle.

In the moments that had elapsed, Ryu and Kyo had come face to face, and as Kyo's flaming hand swung at him, Ryu, now nursing a ball of light in his hands, thrust them forward in a Kamehameha-like motion.

"KORE DE OWARI DA! OROCHINAGI!" (1)

"IKU ZO! SHINKUU...HADOUKEN!" (2)

Flame might light at that instant and the explosive clash rocked the area, blanketing everything in smoke. Ryo and Yuri were nearly knocked down by the gust of wind that followed, but when they managed to get back on their feet, all they could see were two shadows clashing in the smoke, with grunts and yells to match the ferocity of the battle within.

"Ryo, I had no idea that Kyo was such a combat junkie!" Yuri exclaimed in disbelief. "I've never seen him fight like this…never!"

Her brother, looking on almost hungrily, nodded distractedly, far too busy promising himself that he'd get in a brawl like this one someday.

At this juncture, the smoke had finally cleared up, and the fighters within the cloud were visible again. Part of Ryu's gi had been burned by Kyo's Orochinagi, and the rest of his body was covered in dust and bruises. Kyo's jacket had been blown off or outright destroyed, leaving him with a black T-shirt; he was just as beaten and dirty as Ryu, however. For a time, both combatants stared at one another, still holding their stances; Kyo eventually let off a loud sigh and practically collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Damn it…I'm just too beaten up." He paused for a few moments, trying to form the words on his mind, then sighed again. "I give, Ryu. You win."

To Kyo's utter surprise, Ryu chuckled and dropped down as well, choosing to sit Indian-style with his fists on his thighs.

"We'll call it a draw," he replied. "That fire-wave thing…I have to admit, it wiped me out. I didn't have much left in me after that one. How did Ryo manage to beat you when you've got attacks like that?"

Kyo snorted derisively and looked away irritably. "Sakazaki's not fast, but he's strong. Got a little careless, and he took advantage of it and kicked my ass with some well-timed hits."

Ryu nodded in understanding as he shrugged his shoulders. "Things happen like that sometimes. Let me tell you about my old training partner, Ken…he's a great fighter, don't get me wrong, but the last time we sparred, he got in so many lucky shots that you'd swear he stuffed a four-leaf clover in his pocket…"

As Ryu came to the punchline of his little anecdote, Kyo burst into laughter; meanwhile, Ryo, irritated by Kyo's insults, turned away, fixing his gi in a sulky manner.

"Now that was a fight!" Ryo's dad proclaimed cheerily. "Makes me think about getting back in the ring…"

"Dad, we already talked about you, fighting, and the tengu mask. It doesn't work. Just let it go," Ryo mumbled dejectedly, bitter about missing out on his own chance to fight.

A vein popped to life on Ryo's father's forehead, and he immediately fixed his son with a heart-stopping glare.

"Who do you think you're talking to like that?!" he spluttered indignantly. "Are you gonna cry just because you missed your boat? It's your own fault, you know!"

Ryo sniffed impudently. "If I recall correctly, you were the one that sent me in to go get drinks when I was about to fight. Tell me, how is that my fault exactly, you crazy old coot?"

Yuri hissed loudly and stepped away from her brother just as her father pounced on him, knocking the drinks to the ground. In moments, the two were kicking up a dust cloud, yelling and shouting at one another in an almost comical fashion; Ryu and Kyo had stopped their conversation to stare blankly at the commotion.

"…Kyo, who's that guy beating up on Ryo?"

"Takuma Sakazaki…Ryo's dad. They apparently do this a lot. Or something."

Ryu blinked and wisely said nothing more.

Yuri turned to face them, looking rather apologetic. "They'll be like this for a while…and then Dad probably won't feel like talking much. Ryo normally gives him a run for his money, so it always sours his mood."

Ryu nodded and got to his feet, dusting himself off. "Then it's time I got a move on. I've got a form to pick up for this tournament I'm participating in, and Ken's going to meet me at my hotel soon."

Kyo's eyes glinted. "Right…hmm, it was called _The King of Street Fighters, _if I recall correctly. They allow single entries too, don't they?"

"Well, yeah, and two-or three-man teams, and up to two extras FOR the three-man teams. I was just thinking of entering with Ken to try and recapture a little tournament glory."

"Well, I was thinking of entering too…" Kyo mused. "Mind if I were to join up with you two? I could use a team for this one. My regular…teammate…is indisposed right now."

Ryu shrugged. "Fine by me. You'll have to talk with Ken about it, though; he was just planning on this being a 'buddy-buddy' thing, or whatever…I'm staying at the Marriott downtown, room 332, until the prelims are over."

_That's right, _Kyo remembered. _The prelims are here, and then the qualified are heading back to Japan for the main event. I may have to hang out here for a while longer, but what the hell. Ryu's a good fighter, and I could stand to actually make some new friends…Yagami being out of the way has loosened up my free time._

"I'll swing by later, then," he remarked aloud, "so that you and your buddy can catch up, or whatever." He looked over to Takuma and Ryo, who had finally stopped brawling. "Pardon me…I've got some payback to mete out."

With that, he hopped up and turned to Ryo, cracking his knuckles ominously as he walked his way.

Yuri sighed, then turned to Ryu and bowed. "Thank you, Hoshi-san, for visiting us. I apologize for the antics of my brother and father…they're a bit high-strung sometimes, especially with this new tournament around the corner."

"It's not a big deal," Ryu noted. "And it's fine if you call me Ryu-san, I don't mind." He returned Yuri's bow, and waved a farewell to Takuma, Ryo, and Kyo before walking off; by now, though, Ryo and Kyo had started brawling again, and they were all too engrossed in the fight to notice.

Yuri, watching Ryu leave, felt a spring of respect for him well up deep within her, and she studied her hand for a moment before clenching it into a fist.

_This tournament…it's going to be a big one, _she thought.

_I can feel it._

* * *

(1) This is the end! OROCHINAGI! (I won't translate attack names because they're iffy that way. Sorry.)_  
_

(2) Let's go! SHINKUU HADOUKEN!

_Author's Notes (3/2/2008): _Been a while, eh? Well, I've been a bit busy, in all honesty, and I was running idea-less for a while. But now, I've got something good going, and I like how it's flowing (rhyme unintended).

Next chapter will be up eventually. Expect Leona action!


	4. Rumbling on the City: Infinity Drift

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic

Written by Zero-Sennin

* * *

Chapter 4 – Rumbling on the City: Infinity Drift

Fear.

That's what ate at her now.

It had kept her up all night, every night, since she, Ralf, and Clark had returned from the KOF 2003 tournament.

It was the reason that she had requested leave from KOF XI. Granted, Commander Heidern had been puzzled, but upon hearing about the post-tournament incident from Clark and Ralf, he acquiesced to her request and let her be.

She felt sick to her stomach, remembering how out-of-control she had felt for those few, brief moments; how wild she had become, how animalistic…

In fear of losing her rationality like that again, she had done what she felt she had to do. But hearing about this mysterious Ash Crimson…how he had reportedly driven Iori Yagami into a mad rage before defeating the red-haired fighter with ease…

It intensified that fear of losing control…of overpowering her friends and teammates…of tearing at their bodies until they were bloody heaps at her feet…to the point of nausea.

And, of course, it only got worse when she was told by Commander Heidern that she was entering the _King of Street Fighters_ tournament.

"It's been a year, Leona," he had said quietly. "I understand that you still have doubts about yourself, but if you don't address them, you'll never get past them."

She hadn't had the guts to protest, or even attempt to mount an argument. So she had nodded, given her curt "Yes, sir!" and left.

And that was why she was on the very outskirts of Southtown at this moment, alone, chopping sharply at the air as a form of practice and as a way to push her fear into the smallest corner of her mind.

Ralf and Clark were in the city, "chowing down", and Whip…was still with K'. Heidern had, as usual, stayed behind at HQ, but he told Leona that he'd be keeping track of her progress…his own little way of telling her that he would be watching, just in case.

Leona sighed, and stopped 'practicing', sitting heavily on the ground. After a while, she studied her ungloved, sweat-slicked hands. She couldn't recall the last time her hands had been so drenched; she hadn't been slashing hard at all…Why was it happening? Maybe…despite her best efforts, she hadn't truly crushed that nagging fear at the very back of her mind.

Resolutely, she stood, her normally taciturn face a hard block of determination. _This time,_ she thought, _I'll keep cutting at this air until that fear draws its last breath. This is my big comeback mission; I will not be shaken by this pathetic doubt!_

In a feverish, almost frantic manner, Leona began slashing again, grunting louder and fiercer as she got into the routine…soon, she was in a world where only she existed, her hands carving paths into every inch of air around her.

Then, a giggle, light but odd, shattered the wall that contained that world, and Leona snapped back to reality.

"My, my…you seem quite focused, Miss Heidern…I haven't ever seen something quite so impressive in my lifetime, if at all."

Flinching reflexively, Leona whirled around to look at the source of the voice, but there was no one anywhere near her… yet something told her that SOMEONE was in the area.

Then came the tap on her shoulder, and the same voice, still teasing. "Come now, little Leona. Are you so out of it that you can't even hear me talking to you?"

This time, Leona's natural speed came to the fore, and she grabbed the stranger's arm before he or she could move away. Pointing a hand directly at the intruder's throat, she growled, "Tell me who you are or I'll rip your windpipe out!"

Leona's visitor smiled – or smirked - softly, and nonchalantly flicked her dull blonde hair back before meeting the Ikari Warrior's gaze with an air of casual indifference.

"Your hair and eyes are a rather interesting shade of blue," she replied airily. "You don't dye or wear contacts, do you?"

Leona's hand immediately dug into the woman's neck, just below her trachea. "Answer me!"

After looking at Leona a little longer, the woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just call me Wind, okay?" She pushed down the hand at her neck with her free arm, and jerked the other free of Leona's vicegrip with noticeable irritation.

Warily, Leona eyed Wind, trying to figure out what she could possibly want. As she stared at the mysterious woman, she dimly – and oddly enough, fearfully – realized that she recognized the outfit Wind was wearing. A blue outfit with a high collar, long sleeves cinched with two leather bands…black boots…a black muffler secured by a golden chain…and a black nun's headdress?

"You seem a little confused, Leona. Do I…resemble someone you know?"

_So that's it, _Leona thought angrily. _You planned this! Well, I won't let you unnerve me!_ "No. But I'll admit that people with fashion sense like yours are pretty hard to find… probably because - unlike you - they're too embarrassed to leave their houses."

A sudden, fierce light shone in Wind's eyes at that comment, and she stepped forward menacingly; as she came closer, a gust of cold air whirled past Leona, a sharp pain stabbed at her heart, and her knees began to buckle. Unable to suppress a gasp, she clutched her chest, and began fighting to stay standing.

Noticing this, Wind withdrew, looking thoughtfully at Leona for a moment before turning away slightly.

"I seem to have agitated…your condition…my, my, how silly of me. I suppose I'll have to leave you be for a while."

"What do you mean, my 'condition'?" Leona spat bitterly. "You don't know anything about me! Don't you dare underestimate me!"

Over her shoulder, Wind smiled faintly again, but this time, it was colder, and far more condescending; her gaze was chillingly detached.

"Underestimate you? Why, I wouldn't think of it. But…when it comes to me, Leona, I would recommend that you follow your own advice."

Another gust blew by, and just like that, Wind was gone, as if she had vanished into thin air.

The pain flared in Leona's chest again, and she dropped to her knees, bent over, and started coughing and wheezing violently, her eyes widening in shock as she recognized the strange feeling in her chest, the same one that had started before she attacked Ralf and Clark…

…_No…not again…not again, not again…_

After the aching and coughing finally let up, she got back up, legs still shaking, and began to walk back towards Southtown, dialing a number on her cell phone with unsteady hands. When the dial tone started, she pulled out an earpiece and wedged it in, continuing to walk as resolutely as she could.

By the time she'd gone less than a foot, a click sounded in her ear.

"This is Heidern."

"Sir, it's Leona. I think…we may have a big problem."

* * *

Author's Notes (6/20/08): I know this one took a long time, but I was doing a lot of refining, trying not to make it too spoiler-heavy. I should do better from now on though; Chapter 5 is partially written right now.

In fact, we'll be following the two teams established so far – and displaying the many fighters participating in the tournament – in Chapter 5.

I'll be updating my profile with some other stuff I do that you guys might like to see. Stop on by if you're interested in seeing what keeps me from working on this more.


	5. Southtown Shuffle, part 1

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic

Written by Zero-Sennin

* * *

Chapter 5 – Southtown Shuffle, part 1

Out on the Southtown streets, Cammy and Chun-Li, dressed casually to lessen the glaring heat's impact, were inspecting the graffiti-littered brownstone buildings with moderate confusion.

"America's a strange place," Chun-Li murmured. "All of those phrases on the wall, what do they mean? They're written so oddly."

"You'd rather not know," mumbled Cammy as her gaze passed over a particularly profane phrase. "These buggers have a weird sense of humor anyways…Come on, we should get going. Just because Mary went and left to go hang out with that Terry guy for a bit doesn't mean we can't find the Marriott ourselves."

Chun-Li frowned at her as they began to walk towards the next street. "Well, keep in mind that we didn't get written directions BECAUSE Mary was here, and she got all giggly when Terry drove up and forgot to tell us which way we were going. Hell, they could've offered us a ride, even, but noooo!"

"That's love for you, Chun. Blokes have done things just as dumb – and worse – just 'cause the love bug bit 'em where the sun doesn't shine. Kinda like how you get when Ryu's around."

"What was that? Did you imply THAT again?! Cammy, I swear, when I'm done with you…"

"Pssssh, softie," the blonde shot back as they approached the curb. "If you'd just admit it, it wouldn't be such a sore point with you."

"Whatever, whatever…"

Unbeknownst to them, a man was listening quietly to their fairly loud conversation; he shifted slightly on the lamppost he leaned on, which stood not too far from where Cammy and Chun-Li were now standing, and under his pompadour-like mop of red hair, his eyes shifted to glance at them.

"Do we cross the street, or turn right, or left…? Geez, Mary, you're such a flake…"

"You're looking for the Marriott, aren't you?" the man cut in suddenly, his voice rather flat.

Chun-Li blinked and looked over to the lamppost. "Why, yes…but how did you…?"

"You were talking pretty loud over there, in front of that building. I couldn't help BUT hear it. Now, would you like directions or do you enjoy stumbling about in the heat?"

"We'd rather the directions, sir, instead of your lip," Cammy cut in with a sharp glare.

The man straightened up momentarily and fixed them both with a cool gaze. "Make a right here, go down four blocks, turn right again, and go another block. Can't miss it."

"Thanks," Chun-Li replied gratefully, yet warily, as Cammy turned and started down the sidewalk.

"One more thing..." he added. "You're here for the tournament, right?"

"Yes…"

"If you meet a man named Kyo Kusanagi… you tell him that Iori Yagami's looking for him."

Chun-Li looked at him cautiously, seeing the passion rise in his eyes when he mentioned Kyo. "Um, sure…"

Cammy, now halfway down the street, waved impatiently at Chun-Li; quickly, the brunette broke into a brisk jog to catch up with her teammate, thanking the man yet again over her shoulder.

He nodded in response, then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, pulled out a few bills, and straightened up, crossing the street to his left with a casual, cool shuffle.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Marriott, Ryu was in his room, sitting on his bed in absolute silence. After sparring with Kyo, he had taken a quick shower and dressed in a plain white T-shirt and a pair of pants from his spare gi set, then settled down to meditate. Currently, he was using the exercise as a way to kill time until his training partner and friend, Ken Masters, came back from his "Southtown Cruisin' Tour."

Following a few more moments of silent thought, Ryu got up, tightened his headband, and walked over to the door. He had met some of his old acquaintances on the way up, including Dee Jay and Guile, and knew that most, if not all, of the fighters in the tournament were staying in the especially expansive hotel.

He opened the door, and was greeted by a grinning blonde guy in a red shirt, black jeans, and white sneakers.

"Yo, Ryu!"

"Hey, Ken. You have fun…cruising?"

"It was all right, my man, it was allll right. This tourney, though, it's big, real big. Bigger than I ever thought. There are people from all OVER in this town, and it's just the prelims!"

Ryu nodded, understanding Ken's awe. "See anyone we know?"

Ken scratched his head, dark eyebrows furrowed in heavy thought. "Well, Sean's here, along with some kid named Shingo, that Sakura Kasugano girl, and this lady around Sakura's age…Hinata Wakaba, was it?"

Ryu blanched. "S…Sakura? I thought she gave up fighting…wasn't she a gym teacher or something last we heard from her?"

"Well, she's here…let me tell you, buddy, she's not copying you anymore…Seems she met up with this one gym teacher - Nekketsu-san, she called him – and she's picked up a few of his habits, it seems. Habits like smacking things with a freaking SHINAI and breaking them in HALF."

"…So mimicry is still her strength, huh…"

"She can make freaking tornadoes with that thing, man…according to Hinata, the most the Nekketsu fellow ever did was bust people over the head."

"Sheesh…"

"I don't think she's going to the ballroom gathering though…you'll be able to avoid her until the prelims start."

"Ballroom gathering?"

"Every fighter's been invited. A chance to socialize, apparently, but someone like you would rather use it to scope out the competition, right?"

"Right." Ryu grinned. "But a little socializing isn't that bad."

"My God. Maybe I shouldn't have made you hang around my place after the last World Warrior tournament. You've gone and gotten a sense of humor while I wasn't looking!"

Ryu feigned a punch at his longtime friend, who broke into a cheeky grin and headed for the elevator. After locking the door securely, he followed suit.

* * *

The banquet hall was incredibly large, which was a blessing – almost every table was occupied by at least one team. Brawlers from every corner of the world milled around, cracked jokes, or swallowed down the fine cuisine with the manners of starving wolves.

As Ryu looked about at everyone assembled, three people in particular caught his eye. The first was Chun-Li, the second, Kyo, and the third, a tall, bald man in blue-and-red trunks, sporting an eyepatch over his right eye and a nasty scar that ran from the lower right part of his stomach up to the upper left side of his chest.

"Sagat," he murmured. "He's here?"

Ken, hearing the name, followed Ryu's gaze, and whistled when he saw the tall Thailand native. "Damn, this guy's still around? And he's STILL ripped like that? Geez!"

Ryu nodded distractedly and made his way towards Sagat, weaving through the crowd as politely as he could; by the time Ken had caught up, his longtime friend was tapping Sagat on the shoulder, and the massive man turned to face him almost instantly.

"Ah, Ryu," he said, his voice deep and rumbling. "You seem to still be in decent shape."

"Same to you, Sagat. Hey, if you don't mind me asking, I want to know…Where were you while the third World Warrior tournament was going on?"

"Here and there…Training, mostly." His gaze flickered to Ken for a moment. "You and Ken entering as a team?"

"No, I found a third man. He…just hasn't stopped by to meet Ken yet. What about you?"

"I've got a team…really, they're more like disciples as far as I'm concerned, but if it works, it works." He turned his head to look at the table behind him, where a man and woman were watching him intently.

"King, Joe, I'm surprised. You should have introduced yourself instead of staring like this. Come over here."

The woman, dressed in a long-sleeved white dress shirt, a violet vest, and matching pants, got up first and bowed quickly. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't want to interrupt anything." She turned to Ryu and Ken, and shook their hands firmly when they were offered. "My name's King. I use a more kick-oriented form of Muay Thai. Sagat's told Joe and I a lot about you, but it's really more evident why he respects you both so much in person."

"No need to go that far," Ryu replied politely. "Ken's ego is swelled enough as it is."

"Oy, my pride is well placed. Gouken-ryuu Ansatsuken rules, man, and you know it."

Ryu kicked Ken in the shin and mumbled quietly, "Are you trying to offend these guys on purpose or are you just that conceited?"

"Man, I gotta take pride in what the master left us," Ken shot back with equal volume. "They understand, trust me. I can feel it."

Ryu sighed and shook his head, King merely smiled and said nothing, and Sagat pretended not to notice the conversation.

However, Sagat's other partner, Joe, was considerably less amused. His brown, brush-end-like hair wobbling as he pounded a tape-covered hand onto his bare chest, he strode towards Ken and eyed him suspiciously.

"Ora, ora! You wanna piece of some Joe Higashi-styled Screw Upper? 'Gouken-ryuu Ansatsuken' or whatever can't stand up to Muay Thai in a million years!"

Ken was preparing a response when Sagat shot Joe a death glare that made the man wither and withdraw; Ryu could have sworn that Joe literally _crawled_ back to the table.

"Don't mind him," Sagat said somewhat apologetically. "He's…the tougher one to teach. Humility in particular has been a bit difficult to get into his head." He shook his head. "There are so few of these young ones that really know what a rivalry is supposed to be. They just think that they've got to take the other guy down instead of using his progress as a motivator to continue their own. So, so sad…"

"Sir, I think it's time to catch up on our training," King pointed out. "Unless you're willing to put it off today…"

"Hahaha…no, King, no. We can't have any of that right now." Sagat nodded curtly at Ryu and Ken. "Gentlemen, I look forward to competing with you."

"And we'll settle our own account when we meet," Ryu promised with a firm smile.

The giant man grinned wolfishly for a moment before striding off, King and Joe following closely behind him. At about the same time, Kyo approached Ryu and Ken from behind, looking dispassionately at Sagat.

"That guy's a freakin' giant," he noted. "I wouldn't want to have anything to settle with him…"

"Back in the old days, that would've been true," Ryu remarked. "Now though, he's mellowed out a bit more. He's fierce, yes, but not as bad as he used to be."

Ken stared at Kyo, then at Ryu, before asking incredulously, "Just who the hell is this guy, Ryu? Oh, wait, don't tell me…he's the Kyo guy you were telling me about when you got back to the hotel, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is, Ken. Trust me, he' s skilled."

"More than skilled," Kyo interjected. "I beat the crap out of Ryo that day, after you left. _TWICE._ I think I'd be a fair match for your buddy here…"

"He's arrogant and rude too..."

Ryu glanced incredulously at his blonde-haired friend. "This coming from the guy that more or less insulted Muay Thai and every other fighting style under the sun in fourteen words?"

Ken huffed and looked away miserably. "I trust your judgement, Ryu, which is why I won't argue with you about this. But if this punk pushes it even a little bit farther than he should…oh, ho, ho…"

"You know what? I think food would do us all some good," Ryu stated decisively. "Ken, you go on ahead. You're probably hungrier than either of us, what with all that 'cruising'."

Ken's darkened, scowling face brightened up almost instantaneously at the mention of a meal, and he quickly made his way to the serving tables.

"That Ken," Ryu chuckled as he followed his partner. "He's a bottomless pit, he is."

"A pit with a superiority complex the size of Japan," replied Kyo dryly from behind the headbanded fighter.

"Oh, he's just being himself. He was always a bit of a braggart, especially when we younger, and training together. He only started getting himself together after I started whaling the tar out of him during sparring sessions…"

Kyo snickered loudly, and Ken looked suspiciously at him for a moment before shrugging and going back to filling his plate up with food.

* * *

After receiving their food and returning to the table, the team quickly attacked their plates, their hunger intensified by the long wait for their meals.

Once their stomachs were as full as they could ever be, they all slumped back in their chairs, full of ecstasy (and good food).

"Man, these people know how to COOK!" Ken moaned happily. "Best hotel food I've ever eaten!"

"Hear hear," Kyo admitted.

Ryu merely sighed satisfactorily and let his head hang over the back of his chair, his eyes closed; but when someone tapped him gently on the forehead, his comfort momentarily vanished and his eyes practically popped open, letting him see that a pair of familiar brown eyes and a teasing grin were hovering over him.

"You seem pretty full, and unusually relaxed," Chun-Li said as she straightened up to give Ryu a chance to fix his posture. "Seems like Ken's finally started to rub off on you, huh?"

Ryu nodded. "Unfortunately, his luck with the ladies hasn't quite made the jump to me yet."

"Consider that a blessing. Flirts like him always get crowds of women flocking after them, and then it's a real mess trying to sort everything out so that they don't kill each other. Isn't that right, Ken?"

"Oy, oy! I'm happily married now, Madame Supercop," Ken protested. "What makes you think I'd risk a divorce and a beating for a cheap thrill?"

"I've still seen you pass the ladies a wink now and again, love," Cammy observed from behind him. "If I could take a picture or two, maybe Eliza might get a jolly out of it…or she might kill you. Bloody hilarious either way, I think."

Kyo sat up as well, but the look on his face was indicative of one thing and one thing only…intense confusion.

"Who the hell are these two again, and where the hell did they come from?"

"They're my teammates, Kyo Kusanagi. So I'd appreciate it if you showed them a little respect."

Kyo, startled by the familiar voice, quickly turned about to verify who was speaking. As he thought, it was a blonde-haired woman, dressed in a sleeveless red top, blue pants, and large second belt. At her side stood a man in a white shirt and faded blue jeans; a red and white baseball cap with the words "Fatal Fury" on it hid his eyes from view.

Ryu, though confused slightly by Kyo's reaction, nevertheless felt free to remark, "I don't mean to be as rude as our knuckleheaded teammate here, but may I ask your names?"

"Mary Ryan," the woman replied with a smile. "But Blue Mary or Mary's fine, too."

The man grinned, and fiddled with his cap a bit. "Terry Bogard's the name, and brawling's my game."

Kyo's scowl, present on his face since he had turned to face the two, deepened slightly. "I can't believe that you two entered this tournament…it's not like you've even come close to winning any of the KoF ones within your entire careers."

The cutting tone in his words made everyone but Mary and Terry flinch. Ryu and Ken, in particular, were staring at him, wondering what had provoked such a display out of him, Chun-Li was shaking her head in disgust at his behavior, and Cammy was ominously cracking her knuckles and eyeing him with an uncharacteristically stern killing intent.

"Hey, c'mon, man," Terry said. "No need to get irritable about last time we tussled. It coulda gone either way, really."

Kyo didn't even answer that, getting up from the table and stalking off into the crowd as soon as the words had left the Hungry Wolf's lips. Ken called after him, "Hey, Kyo! Kyo! If you lost to the man, don't go and storm off like a child! It ain't cool!"

Kyo, however, was ignoring every word, bound and determined to just leave the room and get some air to still the anger rising in him, to suppress the memory of his flames faltering during that battle…

Then he bumped into someone who had been standing at the exit - none other than the red-haired man that had directed Cammy and Chun-Li to the Marriott in the first place. As soon as Kyo looked into the man's face to snap at him, he recognized the one person he had clashed with more than anyone over the last ten or so years, and growled out one sentence:

"Yagami, move."

The stoic expression on the redhead's face didn't change a bit, and his voice carried the same level of intensity as Kyo's when he replied.

"If you don't want to pay for your poor manners towards me just now, you'll be getting me onto your team."

* * *

Author's Notes (7/11/08): Judging by what I wrote in the last notes, I can see that I deviated from my initial plans a bit. This chapter would have been much longer, but I wasn't getting anywhere trying to push it, so I broke it off here. Next part will be up soon, but in the meantime, I've got some planning to do. See you guys soon. C & C always welcome.


	6. Southtown Shuffle, part 2

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 6: Southtown Shuffle, part 2

* * *

Kyo Kusanagi had been through a lot since he'd started entering the KoF tournaments. Fighting a snake god intent on judging and/or destroying humanity? Check. Getting used as a guinea pig in weird experiments to put his powers to use for a DRUG CARTEL? Double check. Dealing with a bunch of weirdoes that wanted to revive the snake god AND an especially weird guy that had stolen two of the three Sacred Treasures? Triple check.

But now, his erstwhile rival, Iori Yagami, who'd hated his guts forever and longer, was ASKING to team up with him, when any other time, they had to be coerced and cajoled repeatedly? True, Yagami hadn't really made a question out of it, but the way he'd phrased it was as close to a question as he could get it.

The entire idea was so insane, so ridiculous couldn't help but break out into loud, almost scornful laughter.

"You? On my team?!" he managed to say after a moment. "Hate to burst your bubble, Yagami, but this time I'm not even leading a team. Even if I was, I'd say no, and odds are that my partners will turn you down fast and hard! What could you do for us anyways? Since Ash Crimson stole that magatama of yours, your flames are dead and gone…"

Despite the utter rudeness Kyo was displaying, Iori was unfazed. "Yeah. I know. I've spent the time since then learning how to fight without them. And I'm just as good as I was before. Hell, when I get the magatama back, I'll be even stronger!"

"Just as good? Hah! I'd be surprised if you could even take a hit from an Orochinagi as you are right now."

Iori's eyebrow went up. "Is that a challenge?"

"It might be."

By now, their conflict had begun to draw a crowd around them; however, the people closest to them were none other than the ones that had seen them storm off, though they were fighting to stay close enough to keep them from killing one another.

"Kyo, what are you doing, picking a fight in a place like this?" Ken yelled. "Stop acting like a kid and chill out!"

"This bum wants to be on our team even though he knows he can't contribute jack squat! You think I'm gonna entertain him for even a minute?"

"It bloody well looks like it, mate," Cammy pointed out dryly.

"This is my business anyways," Kyo growled. "Stay out of it, you Brit smartass. Yagami, come with me. We'll fix your attitude right here and now!"

"I'm not following you anywhere…if anything, you'll be coming to me, since you're the one that got this to escalate."

With that, Iori strode out, cool as a cucumber. Kyo was hot on his heels, spewing trash talk every step of the way, trying to get Iori's calm façade to crack and reveal the hot-tempered psychopath everyone knew and avoided. Most of the crowd followed them, including Ryu and the others, curious to see how the clash would end – or hoping that there wouldn't be any body bags leaving the hotel.

* * *

It was now late afternoon in Southtown, and the streets were beginning to fill up with less-than-savory types that did their best (and only) work at night. Despite this, Kyo, still intent on beating the living tar out of his longtime enemy, stared him down as the mob swelling around them began to include pickpockets and muggers.

"Just like old times, huh, Yagami…?"

Iori smirked and flexed his right hand. "Sort of...this time, though, I think we'll have a decisive winner. Me."

That remark more or less did it for Kyo; he dashed at Iori, left fist flaming as it never had before. Seeing his anger, Iori's smirk widened ever so slightly, and he walked forward slowly, hands at his side.

"My guard's not even up, Kyo!" he said. "So if I block this, or you miss, then…you're just as pathetic as I always thought you were!"

With an inhuman roar, Kyo shot his fist forward, intending to catch the smug redhead right between the eyes.

And despite the speed of that punch, all Iori had to do was tilt his head to avoid it, letting it pass by his face without looking unduly alarmed when the flames lightly scorched his skin.

Iori sighed, and closed his eyes. "Ooh. So close."

Then he grabbed Kyo's shoulder with one hand, and used the other to punch him violently in the stomach before shifting his grip from shoulder to throat and choke-slamming Kyo to the ground.

"Hey, idiot…" Kyo wheezed. "You can't use the exploding part of this move without your flames."

"I know…" Iori replied as he drew his free hand back. "That's why I do THIS now!"

With the same ferocity he had just used to pummel Kyo's stomach, Iori wailed on his face, the blows landing like rain driving against the ground, then lifted him up and tossed him aside.

"Are you going to stop this now, Kusanagi?" asked Iori as he put his hands in his pockets before looking down on Kyo. "No, wait, let me guess; you want more, don't you? To prove to yourself and all these other people that you're the best, you're going to keep on getting up until you can bring me down…aren't you?"

Kyo managed a feeble grin as he rose from the ground. "Not to prove that I'm the best. Just to prove that you're not."

"…You'd better be as determined when Crimson comes for you, Kusanagi. Or you'll lose. He beat me when I was 'rioting out'. Easily. He can do the same to you, with much less effort, much like what I'm doing to you right now."

Kyo's flaming fist flew at Iori yet again; this time, the redhead ducked and smashed Kyo in the ribcage with one punch, then smacked him in the jaw with another. Then, as Kyo reeled back, Iori clasped his hands together and smashed Kyo in the back of the head with an overhead attack.

This combination, so brutally delivered, knocked Kyo to the ground yet again. This time, though, the brown-haired brawler couldn't get up. His sides were literally heaving, and while none of the injuries were too serious, they presently kept him from even thinking straight, much less standing.

"If you wanna keep going, then that's fine by me, Kusanagi. I will beat you into the dirt until you or your partners let me on your team."

A disturbance in the crowd caught Iori's attention; someone was pushing their way through. _Most likely one of Kusanagi's teammates,_ he thought._ Whatever comes next, I suppose I've been asking for it. I did beat the crap out of the idiot this time - more so than usual, at any rate - which means I may have to face Crimson alone._

True to the redhead's prediction, Ryu stepped out of the gathered mass, a look of pure irritation on his face as he walked towards Kyo's prone body. After bending down and hoisting his ally on his shoulder, Ryu glared at Iori.

"Why did you let him go this far? You seem to know him far too well for this to be an accident…"

"…I was trying to show him what his future will be without me on your team."

"…And what does that mean?"

"Ash Crimson is going to come after Kyo the first chance he gets. If I'm there, I can weaken him by taking back what's rightfully mine. If I'm not, then Crimson will beat the crap out of Kyo and take his powers. Knowing you and your buddy, you'll step in to help Kyo out – and probably get killed in the process."

Ryu's glare softened slightly; the somber tone of Iori's voice wasn't one that could be faked easily, especially for the sake of a lie. "I…see. But…I don't quite understand this whole 'power' thing. Explain it to me, will you?"

"I have no issues with that. But only if…you let me on your team. That's it. Kyo could tell you, of course, when he comes to, but he may be too miserable and stubborn to share."

After a moment of consideration, Ryu nodded, then turned slightly to begin taking Kyo back out to the hotel. "You're in. But…you'd better quit antagonizing Kyo, or we're going to kick you out. Hard."

"I'll do what I can," Iori replied as he followed behind Ryu. "No guarantees that Kyo will be so happy to keep his hands off me, though."

Ryu's brow furrowed as he pushed his way through the crowd. "We'll make sure he does."

* * *

When Kyo came to, he was lying on a bed, his shoes and jacket removed. Moaning in agony, he tried to get up, only to have Ken's hand push down gently on his chest.

"Take it easy, hotshot," the blonde told him. "You're pretty damn resilient, we can tell, but even you need to relax a bit for now… Yagami kicked your ass hard."

"…Where are we?"

"Back in our hotel room…Ryu's getting some cold compresses and stuff for the swelling."

The throbbing in his head forced another pained groan from Kyo. "…I'm gonna kill that bastard the next time I see him…how could he beat me without even using his powers…?"

"Because when I can't use all my usual tricks, I have to use ones neither of us would have come up with otherwise."

Dully, almost expectantly, Kyo turned his head slightly, towards the door, knowing full well who he expected to see. Sure enough, Iori, a decidedly neutral look on his face, was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets.

"You're with us now…aren't you, Yagami?"

The redhead nodded. "Just like old times."

Ken sighed, and said, "Look, me and Ryu, we can tell that you two aren't the best of friends…but this Ash Crimson dude, willing to kill all of us just to get to you...we think that warrants getting all the help we can get. Even if said help beat the crap out of you."

"I understand, I understand. I was just…trying to blow off some steam when I started the whole thing. Besides, it's not like Yagami and I haven't done this whole…teaming up thing before. It's just that…it's annoying."

"And by annoying, he means that he and I just couldn't help but beat the crap out of one another once everything was said and done. It's a part of some fated battle something or other we're supposed to have…"

Ken nodded, but the dubious look in his eyes was undeniable. "…Uh-huh…"

Ryu chose that moment to enter with two boxes of Icy Hot patches and a bag of ice. "This is all I could find…sorry, Kyo, but it'll have to do."

Kyo managed to wave a hand dismissively despite the throbbing in his arm. "It's fine, it's fine. Whatever you brought will probably be good enough to get me in shape for the prelims…"

"Have you checked a calendar recently?" Ryu asked incredulously. "The prelims are tomorrow, Kyo! Tomorrow! You can't fight like this!"

"I know that…but thanks to my Sacred Treasure, I heal up somewhat faster than regular people. So I'll be fine."

Upon hearing the words 'Sacred Treasure', Ryu flinched and stared at Kyo in amazement. "Sacred Treasure…? Wait, you don't mean...you have one of the three Imperial Regalia of…of JAPAN?!"

Kyo grinned. "Yep… None other than the Kusanagi no Tsurugi."

Ryu and Ken's jaws more or less dropped off of their faces after that; it took several moments before Ken managed to croak, "How could you even…get your hands on that…? It's one of the holiest relics of the Japanese people!"

"That's nothing," Iori replied. "Hell, I used to have the Yasakani no Magatama, and that one of our associates held the Yata no Kagami. And all three have of the treasures been passed down in our respective families for generations upon generations…within our bodies."

Ryu paled. "WITHIN YOUR WHAT?!"

"Yagami, cut to the chase before they pass out…" said Kyo.

"Fine, fine. The Sacred Treasures have been held by the Kusanagi, Yata, and Yasakani clans for the longest time, as I just said…ever since they were used to seal away the Yamata no Orochi way back when. Despite a number of changes over the years, the descendants lived fairly normal lives…at least, until Orochi came back again. Me, Kyo, and the Yata woman -"

"Chizuru," Kyo interjected.

"Whatever! Anyways, the three of us teamed up and sealed Orochi back up, Kyo and I fought again, and weird stuff happened in the years afterwards. Some stupid drug peddlers thought they could use Kyo's powers for their own gains, and now we've got an emo fire-user and his opposite number running around…"

At this point, Ryu and Ken had gotten over their shock and were trying to keep up with Iori's story; the perplexed looks on their faces were almost painfully hilarious.

"…and about two years ago, Ash Crimson attacked Chizuru and took the mirror. The next year, he pulled the same trick on me even while I was 'rioting out'… And now, he's planning to do the same to Kyo."

"You haven't explained the whole Riot of the Blood thing, Yagami. What, too ashamed to talk about it?"

Iori snorted and looked away. "It's not important to the story."

"Like hell it isn't! What about those weirdoes, y'know – 'Those from the Past' or whatever? One of their flunkies was the last guy we fought, and you rioted out immediately afterwards! If you get your powers back and by some chance it happens again, they need to know!"

With a sigh, Iori turned to Ryu and Ken, and asked, "Can you bear to hear more of this story or would you rather take a break?"

"Whatever this 'Riot of the Blood' is, I want to hear about it," Ryu replied. "If it endangers any of us here, it's relevant."

"…The Yasakani turned traitor after Orochi got sealed up the first time," Iori said after a long silence. "They made a deal with him…and gained extraordinary power, at the cost of a large part of their life spans, and much more. The Yasakani flames turned purple, the mothers of their children were cursed to die while giving birth, and the clan's name was changed to Yagami. In addition, whenever Orochi, or his servants, exude a large amount of power…I go berserk. Faster, stronger, crazier… the whole nine yards. That's the Riot of the Blood."

"But this…Riot is linked to your powers, isn't it?" Ken asked.

"Yes, it is. So long as I don't have them, I shouldn't be able to lose control if any Orochi power presents itself."

"Well, why would it 'present' itself if Orochi's sealed up?"

Iori sucked his teeth obstinately. "Because the same thing happened last year, at the end of the last King of Fighters tournament – these people calling themselves 'Those from the Past', they triggered it…then Crimson kicked my ass."

"And Kyo's next, huh…" Ryu mused. "Well, whoever this guy is, we can take him down easy."

Ken yawned. "Not unless we get some sleep. Iori, Kyo, you've got your own hotel rooms, don't you? Go, go, we need to be ready for tomorrow. You especially, Kyo."

Kyo sighed and shrugged himself out of bed. "Fine. G'night, Ryu, Ken…Yagami."

Ryu and Ken nodded, while Iori shrugged and left, pulling the door shut behind him. Kyo shuffled over to it and reached for the knob, then paused and looked over his shoulder at his teammates.

"You guys…you'd better be careful if Crimson shows… he's ruthless."

"I've fought a psychotic dictator, wielding the world's most dangerous power, twice - and survived," Ryu replied. "One guy can't do much…"

"That's what Yagami might've been thinking, but look at what happened to HIM."

With that rejoinder, Kyo popped open the door and walked off.

* * *

Author's Note (7/31/08): Vacation + writer's block SUCK. Sorry if it seems a bit draggy, I got rusty between writing spurts. Next chapter the brawls start! GET READY! OK!


	7. CF & BB! The Preliminaries Begin

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 7: Crimson Fists and Burning Blood! The Preliminaries Begin

* * *

That morning, almost every fighter in Southtown had awoken with a grin, smirk, or just a large amount of confidence.

It was the day many had been waiting for since they had arrived…a chance to fight for superiority, to prove who was the best of the best and who was gutter trash. Despite the varying emotions of each fighter, all were assured of one thing, and one thing alone:

Victory would belong only to those that claimed it.

And as each team made their way to the Southtown Stadium that morning to register their teams, they were all intent on doing so, no matter who or what got in their way.

* * *

The _King of Street Fighters_ tournament committee had set up a large, circular platform in the middle of the grassy stadium to serve as the arena.

As the teams stood expectantly around it, a representative of the tournament board came to the center, dressed in a yellow two-piece tweed suit and wielding a microphone. After scanning the crowd, he twirled the mike between his fingers and brought it close to his mouth.

"Yo, everybody! Welcome to _The King of Street Fighters_ prelim matches! Only twelve teams are leaving this arena today and heading on to the finals in scenic Chiryu City, Japan! The rest of you…well, you'll do whatever you do when you lose fighting tournaments. Now listen up…here are the rules! First of all, teams with four or five combatants must select three for combat prior to the start of any match. Secondly, two-man teams and single-entries must win at least 2 matches against three, four, or five-man teams to advance. Third, matches are won by defeating all members of the team when two three-man teams are competing against one another. If the number of people on each team is not the same, the team with fewer members will need to defeat the majority of the other team's members to win. Also, matches may be called at any moment if necessary. Finally, if you fall out of the ring, you automatically lose the match! And with that done, let's get this STARTED!"

"It's about time," Iori grumbled tiredly. "Freakin' HOT out here…"

The large screen on the western wall of the stadium blinked to life, and white words appeared behind a scrolling rectangular bar.

_MATCH 1: Cherry Blossom Brigade vs. the "Master of Saikyou-Ryuu", the Amazing Dan Hibiki_

The crowd began to disperse, settling themselves around the arena in their respective teams, as a young-looking woman in a red track suit, _shinai _at her side and the ponytailed, pink-clad Dan stepped into the ring. The woman's three teammates, two guys and a girl about her age, stood at the ring's edge.

Ryu's group settled down directly where they'd been standing.

Iori looked at Dan flexing his muscles and rolling about, yelling "YAHOO!", then looked over at Sakura, who was briskly smacking her weapon against the ground and grinning fiercely; after a moment, he put his hands in his pockets and turned to face the arena.

"That idiot…he's putting on such a show it'd be rude to ignore his inevitable beating."

Meanwhile, Dan had switched to directly taunting his opponent. "So, Sakura! You've decided to face me, eh?! With a weapon, no less! How sad… prepare to witness the awesomeness of SAIKYOU-RYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sakura flexed her _shinai_ and brushed her dark brown bangs out of her face. "Then, you make the first move. I promise you it'll be over quickly."

With one final "YAHOOOO!", Dan charged forward, his fists clenched and a triumphant grin plastered on his face. Sakura strode forward leisurely to meet him, and when he was less than a foot from her, she leisurely swept her _shinai_ along the ground, tripping him easily. As soon as he hit the ground, she smacked him repeatedly and briskly all over his body before sending him rolling with a golf-swing styled strike. As Dan spluttered and mumbled, Sakura smacked her _shinai_ on her shoulder lightly and grinned playfully.

"Wanna try that again?" she asked.

Dan rose slowly, shook himself off, then leaped forward suddenly, his knee extended as he flew at Sakura.

"SUCK ON SOME DANKUKYAKU!!!!!!"

Sakura quickly sidestepped, shoved her shinai into her waistband, and brought her hands to her side, assuming a familiar pose as a small ball of light appeared between them.

Kyo's gaze snapped onto Ryu. "Did you…?"

"No, I didn't. She learned by watching me. Impressive, huh?"

Light exploded as Sakura shot her hands forward, and the Hadouken, though smaller than Ryu's, traveled the short distance between Dan and Sakura almost instantaneously, smashing powerfully into his back and knocking him out of the air.

However, Dan's stubborn determination gave him the strength to tuck into a roll near the ground; once he slowed down, he practically sprang to his feet and whirled about, ready to charge…but in doing so, he got to see Sakura dashing at him, white tennis shoes thudding on the floor and shinai whistling through the air, flying at – and eventually smashing into – his face with an audible whack.

With a surprised yell that gave way to a groan, he staggered backwards; Sakura thrust her shinai forward with a two-hand grip, striking him directly in the stomach and bowling him over. By the time he hit the ground, his eyes had blanked out, and his breathing was labored and unsteady.

Cheerily, Sakura walked off, whistling a tune while her teammates grinned at each other; scattered laughter mixed with sympathetic hisses rose from the crowd in the stands as the announcer cried, "Winners are…the Cherry Blossom Brigade!"

Ryu and Ken nodded appreciatively as they rose from the ground, acknowledging Sakura's talent; the former went so far as to give Sakura a thumbs-up when his fan and former 'student' looked his way. Her face immediately lit up and she began babbling incoherently at such a speed that one of her male teammates, a tan fellow wearing a yellow gi like Ryu and Ken's, looked quizzically to see what had been bothering her, only to start babbling himself when he saw Ken.

Ryu grinned. "Sean seems pretty excited, Ken. You gonna talk to the kid this time?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Ken replied airily as he began to walk towards the stands, Iori in pursuit. "He's probably beyond me at this point anyway."

"SENSEI!!!! It's been forever since we last hooked up, man! What's the deal?!"

"…Or not."

Ryu couldn't help but break out into raucous laughter as Sakura and her teammates came over and sat down next to them; Sakura herself was still grinning happily.

"Been a while, eh, Ryu-senpai? How've you been doing?"

"Fine, thanks for asking…So, Sakura, it's senpai now, eh? What, you don't want to learn from me anymore?"

"You know just as well as I do that you're still my role model, Ryu-senpai. But since we're not that far apart in age and we're probably equal in skill at this point, senpai feels more appropriate, y'know?"

Ryu nodded. "True enough."

Kyo cleared his throat loudly. "The next match is starting and I'd like to be able to hear and see without any distractions, if that's not too much of a bother."

"Who's up?" Ken queried.

"'Team K' ' against some guy named Remy."

The blonde waved dismissively. "It's a fight we can afford to miss. No big deal. That Ash guy, though, if he shows up, let us know."

Sean fixed Ken with a questioning gaze. "Who's Ash, sensei? He sounds pretty cool."

Iori mumbled something under his breath, but made no further comment.

Sakura's other male teammate, a fellow in a blue school uniform wearing a white headband and sporting gloves similar to Kyo's, looked over at Iori sympathetically, only shifting his gaze to Kyo when the redhead gave him a stare dripping with thinly-veiled annoyance.

"So, Kyo, these guys, they know about what happened with Crimson already?"

"…Yeah, Shingo. They do. And they even offered to help, sort of."

"So did I…but you turned me down…"

"You need to worry about graduating…your mother would kill you if you turned into a shiftless high-school dropout fighter."

Everyone except Shingo and Iori fixed Kyo with a look that said no more and no less than 'Are you freaking serious?' for several seconds; Kyo's face colored slightly as he realized what he had just admitted. "Yes, I never finished high school…The tournaments got in the way."

"And you're a bloody idiot," Iori added smugly.

"Nobody asked you for your opinion, mop-top!"

"Right to free speech, Kusanagi. Don't you just love America?"

Kyo would have swung at him, but the billboard was displaying the next match, one that would prove to be much more interesting than the others so far.

_MATCH 3: Team Justice vs. the Agents Team_

* * *

Ryu was wondering idly who Team Justice was until he actually took a good look at the arena; Chun-Li was stepping in, dressed in a blue shirt, blue shorts with yellow trim, and blue-and yellow-sneakers, her ox-buns uncovered and spiked bracelets gracing her wrists. Her opponent was a woman wearing simple gloves, a sleeveless, collared white shirt, and long green pants; a red tie hung over her considerable…assets, and her hair was bright red.

"…Vanessa, huh," Iori mumbled. "That Chun-Li's gonna have a rough time…"

"She's that tough?" Ken asked.

"Sort of. Really punchy, for sure." He actually cracked a smile at his own joke, corny or not.

In the arena, Chun-Li was stretching coolly, limbering up as much as she could. Vanessa was busy reassuring her teammate Ramon that she could – and would – win, without any serious injury.

"Miss Vanessa, be as careful as you can, please. Those spiked bracelets, they look quite dangerous, and…"

"Ramon. Ramon! It's fine, Ramon. I can do this, all right? Trust me."

"All right, Miss Vanessa, but again, I implore you…"

Groaning, Vanessa turned her back to him, attempting to hide her embarrassment and slight irritation.

"He's a real gentleman, you know," she remarked idly to Chun-Li, who'd been observing the whole thing. "It's just that he…you know, gets too overprotective now and then."

"It's no problem," Chun-Li replied as she settled into her stance. "Anytime you're ready, I am."

Vanessa pulled her fists up into a regular boxing stance and bounced on the balls of her toes for a while, then slid forward with astonishing speed, directing two punches directly at Chun-Li's face; Chun-Li was so shocked by Vanessa's agility that she couldn't dodge either blow, which sent her flying up like a rocket. Luckily, she recovered herself in midair with a forward flip, and managed to land without much trouble…until she saw Vanessa rushing her again. Biting back a curse, Chun-Li quickly got up and parried the straight punch aimed at her stomach, as well as several rapid-fire jabs; she dodged the last punch, then retaliated with a quick kick to Vanessa's stomach, followed by a two-palm strike that pushed Vanessa back slightly.

Vanessa soon shook the stars out of her eyes and hopped forward with a few more jabs that Chun-Li easily dodged and parried; almost immediately after her last blow failed to connect, Vanessa suddenly slid back with the same speed she had used in the forward-sliding technique, moving her far away from the kick.

Chun-Li blinked, trying to make sense of what she had just seen. _How does she move like that?! It's like friction doesn't even apply to her…_

Vanessa smiled and kicked her shoe against the ground before pulling her dark gloves on even tighter. "The fun's just about to start! Get ready!"

She slid forward again, but seemed to slow down right in front of Chun-Li. Taking it as a sign of good luck, Chun-Li quickly rose up on one leg, preparing a straight kick to smash Vanessa in the chest and knock her back again…but when she struck out, she was shocked to discover that she had missed – Vanessa had DUCKED in the middle of the slide and was now directly beneath her.

Vanessa grinned and swung her fist up savagely. "TAKE THIS! UPPER…CUT!"

Grimacing, Chun-Li shifted her guard downwards, desperately praying that she could manage a block in time; she was all too relieved when Vanessa's hand smacked against her arms, but couldn't help wincing at the sting of impact. Quickly, she stepped back a few paces to gain some breathing room, then growled when she felt her ankle hover uncertainly in mid-air. Vanessa's offensive rush had been pushing her towards the edge of the ring, but she'd been so distracted that she hadn't noticed.

_I'd better get back on the attack already...there's no way I'm gonna embarrass myself in front of all these people by losing through ring-out!_

Vanessa had gotten back up and into her stance, but this time, she wasn't rushing forward again. She'd seen the sudden shift in Chun-Li's demeanor once she realized what had been going on, and knew that the Chinese fighter wouldn't be so easy to trick anymore.

_If I can nail her with a Machinegun Punch, she'll probably be left open long enough for me to Champion Punch her out of the ring… but the only question is how to lure her in. It's probably best to let her take the lead this time – there's a greater chance she'll get distracted again._

Vanessa's thoughts were interrupted when she saw Chun-Li thrust her hands forward and send out an energy projectile. Taking no chances, she darted to the side, expecting it to pass by her…only to see it disappear long before it reached her. She'd left herself wide open to an attack, and Chun-Li was intending to capitalize on that error.

After going into a quick crouch, Chun-Li twisted herself a bit before using all the energy in her body to push into the air while managing to flip herself upside down and extend her legs. She had put so much force into the push that she was flying at Vanessa alarmingly fast, and before the boxer could react, her torso was being battered by Chun-Li's powerful legs.

"What the hell kind of a move is that?!" Kyo yelled. "She's SPINNING! AND UPSIDE DOWN! IN MIDAIR!"

Ken looked at him dismissively. "You can control fire and you're freaking about a move like that? Man, you're weird."

Back on the battlefield, Vanessa was sharing Kyo's opinion, but wasn't in any shape to voice it. Even after the final strike of the move, she was too disoriented to think straight; in fact, it was an effort to stay standing and keep an eye on Chun-Li, who had landed from her attack, right in front of Vanessa, and was now standing on one leg, the other bent in preparation to kick.

"I'm sorry if this one hurts a bit, but you're trickier than you look," Chun-Li said. "This one will put you down for good."

Still dizzy, Vanessa initially thought that the next attack would only be one kick, which wasn't too much of a worry to her. After all, she had taken several hits from those ridiculous legs before, and she was still standing, wasn't she?

It wasn't until she saw Chun-Li's bent leg straighten into a blur of kicks that she began to wonder if she was worse off than she thought…and by the time she was feeling every single one of those kicks, she was already beginning to black out.

On the sidelines, Cammy was nodding matter-of-factly, while Mary was staring at Vanessa and Chun-Li in awe.

"When you said…that she was a good contender for World's Strongest Woman, you weren't kidding."

"I never kid around about Chun, love. Never."

Finally, after about a full five seconds of kicks, Chun-Li delivered one final roundhouse that sent Vanessa flying towards the center of the ring. Immediately afterwards, she bent over, hands on knees, and began to breathe heavily; she'd been a bit more forceful than she'd wanted to be, but if it made sure that the redhead was down for the count, then it was worth it.

Poor Ramon was clutching at his hair with one hand and rubbing his large black eyepatch with another, all while yelling, "¡¡SEÑORITA VANESSA!! ¡¡AH, DIOS, SEÑORITA VANESSA!! ¡NOOOOOOO!" Cammy, Mary, and most of the spectators were cheering loudly for her, and the announcer himself, having just inspected Vanessa to make sure she was unconscious, looked pretty stoked as he announced, "Winner of the first match is…Chun-Li! Give it UP, everybody!"

The cheers grew deafeningly loud, and Chun-Li couldn't help but chuckle as she finally looked up to see what was going on. Vanessa was most definitely out cold, as Ramon was now hovering over her with almost comical sorrow on his face.

"¡Pierdo! ¡Pierdo!" he managed to say to the announcer. "I forfeit my match!"

"All right, then. The Agent Team has forfeited! Team Justice moves on to the semifinals!"

Vanessa's eyes snapped open, and she managed to grab Ramon by the collar and pull him close to her, shaking him violently.

"What are you DOING?! Where's your courage?! Why don't you 'become a tiger' like always, huh?!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Vanessa, truly!" Ramon managed to choke out. "She…she's scary, and I don't think I can take her like this…ay, condénelo..."

* * *

"Who's up for a drink and some food?" Chun-Li asked her teammates as she hopped down from the stage.

"As long as Mary's buying, I'm good!"

Mary huffed. "Cammy, you're such a cheapskate! Why can't you ever pay for your own stuff?"

"Because I'm on bloody vacation! People are supposed to be catering to my every whim! If I had to do everything myself, it'd be like I was back at work!"

"What kind of logic is that?"

"Hey, it MAKES sense! You're just not thinking about it."

"Yeah, I'm sure…"

"Ladies, ladies, please!" Ken called. "No need to argue. I'll treat everybody to something good when the matches are over. That's all right, right?"

Mary and Cammy looked at him almost simultaneously before shrugging.

"See, not so hard, is it? Now come on, kindly grace us with your company…" He patted the ground next to him and put a friendly grin on his face.

"Don't get too comfy, Ken," Kyo muttered somberly. "Look at the next matchup."

Blinking quizzically, Ken looked over his shoulder at the large screen.

_Match 4: Team Ansatsuken vs. Team Kyokugen_

Ryu groaned. _Team Kyoukgen…? That means that we're up against…_

"Yo, Ryu!" a voice called from the arena.

Startled by the sudden noise –and the familiar voice - Ryu's head snapped around to look at who was speaking. Naturally, it was none other than Ryo Sakazaki, orange gi blazing in the afternoon sun, accompanied by Yuri and Takuma.

"You and me this time, buddy," he said with a grin. "You wanna go first or should we save the best for last?"

Ryu looked at his teammates, and they all shrugged.

"It's up to you, man," Iori said. "Me, I only care about fighting Crimson."

Ryu nodded, and turned back to Ryo.

"Let's give the people a show. You and I will go last."

Yuri grinned and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Then I'll go first! Which one of you boys wants to tussle with me?"

Ken cracked his knuckles and hopped up into the ring. "I've been itchin' for a fight for a while…I'll take you on."

Ryo and Takuma nodded and hopped down out of the ring; as Yuri and Ken took their own positions near the center of the ring, Ryu flashed his training partner a thumbs-up.

"Kick some butt, Ken," he said quietly.

After a few quick stretches, Yuri entered her stance, her grin widening.

"Let's go!"

Ken smirked and made a beckoning motion with his hand. "After you."

* * *

Author's Notes (10/23/08): Yeah, I know this one took a while. My fault really, I got writer's blocked again. But a good review does the body wonders, y'know? I'll try not to take too long with the next one. And I'll start replying to reviews as a way of updating you guys on what's up, 'cuz, you know, I should and stuff.

UPDATE (10/28/08): Sorry, the separations didn't hold up for some reason. It should be better now.


	8. Ansatsuken vs Kyokugen

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 8: Ansatsuken vs. Kyokugen

* * *

Yuri and Ken didn't waste any time sizing up one another once the referee gave them the signal to begin fighting. In fact, Miss Sakazaki was the one to lead in, dashing at Ken with long, loping strides. Her first few punches, while fast, were straights, which weren't too hard for Ken to ward off. However, her reactions to Ken's swings were just as quick as his blocks – she slapped most of them away with ease. It looked like they were deadlocked up until Yuri swung at Ken's chest, grabbed his gi once her hand was close enough, and yanked him forward. Before he could break out of the grab, Ken felt an empty palm smack against his chin, with such unnatural force behind the blow that he went flying as Yuri let his gi go.

Yuri wasn't done yet, though; she quickly slid forward and rose up into a Shoryuken-like uppercut that struck Ken in the small of his back, making his chest puff out as he groaned in pain. While she landed long before Ken did, she didn't press her attack, and let him hit the floor one or two feet away from her, watching warily as he eventually got up.

To her surprise, he didn't look angry or even mildly frustrated; in fact, he had a goofy grin plastered on his face as he rubbed his back.

"Man, I AM getting old," he said. "That one packed a hell of a punch and made me a bit dizzy to boot…I'm impressed. Keep it coming just like that, OK?"

Yuri smiled as well, and smacked a fist into her open palm. "Fine by me!"

After a quick roll of his shoulders, Ken pulled his hands to the side of his body, concentrating for only a moment, then thrust his hands forward, firing a Hadouken at Yuri. Without even flinching, she pulled her own arm back, then thrust it forward, unleashing a projectile of her own that matched – and dissipated – Ken's Hadouken.

If Ken was shocked by this, he didn't let it show as he surged forward, fists clenched to let more blows loose. As he prepared a right hook, though, Yuri grabbed at him again, and he stopped short to avoid her grasp…which left him open to get kicked in the face, forcing him to stagger back as a welt in the shape of sneaker treads slowly appeared on his forehead. Then, while he was still dizzy, Yuri flung herself at him bottom-first, striking him in the stomach and bowling him over.

On the sidelines, Ryu, Kyo, and the others were staring blankly, while Ryo and Takuma were pinching the bridges of their noses, looking something like mirror images of one another.

"You'd think after all this time she'd grow out of an attack like that," the elder Sakazaki mumbled, his gaze boring a hole into the ground as Yuri stuck her tongue out playfully at her opponent.

Ken, for the second time in many minutes, finally got back to his feet, though the genial expression on his face had been replaced by one of slight shock.

"Did you just hit me with your butt?" he asked incredulously. "Seriously, your BUTT?! A punch would've been fine, or a kick. But your BUTT?! Geez!"

"It works," replied Yuri with a cheeky grin. "Now, come on! Aren't we supposed to be having fun?"

Ken scratched his head and rubbed at the marks Yuri had left on his forehead. "Yeah, yeah…All right then, I'll start off. Just try not to keep slapping at me, huh?"

She flexed her fingers and pulled at her fingerless purple gloves. "No promises."

Then she rushed him again, her feet barely pounding against the ground as she loped forward. Ken was better prepared this time, though, and waited for her to come a bit closer before shooting off another Hadouken. Given that she was in motion this time, she couldn't dodge it and got hit in the stomach – which was exactly what Ken expected. Without pausing, he hopped forward and added in a few punches to the mix, pushing Yuri back a bit with each one. Seeing that she was still open and close, he snapped out a roundhouse kick, catching her in the chest, whirled about on his grounded leg, and dropped an axe kick on her shoulder, causing her knees to buckle as she forced herself to stay standing.

"Not bad," he remarked as he shuffled back. "But now the knockout blow's coming!"

_He may be getting a bit ahead of himself, or maybe not… _Yuri thought bitterly. _I've got to pull something big to make him back up! I think I'm gonna have to pull out the big guns…_

Grinning, Ken stomped on the ground and advanced one more time, his fist beginning to flare with fiery energy. "Let's go!" he roared.

Yuri took a quick, steadying breath and pulled her hands to her side, as if she was attempting a Hadouken. "If you really want to, then I'll show you my strongest move…!"

Kyo grimaced. "Oh, boy…this isn't gonna end well."

Ryu gave him a puzzled glance. "How so?"

"Ken's trying to close, but Yuri's prepping a move that's strong at practically any range. Either he powers through it or he gets flattened – and either way, he'll be mashed up afterwards."

Ryo and Takuma were no less unsettled, and both were praying silently that Yuri could blow Ken away with the move she was preparing. Ultimately, though, everyone knew that they had to just let things happen.

And from what they could tell, things were really gonna explode.

As Ken finally got close enough to Yuri, he shifted into a Shoryuken-esque position, his hand's energy flaring up even more.

"SHINRYUKEN…!"

Yuri was more than ready for him, though, and her hands thrust forward; however, they were spread apart fairly widely, and the resulting blast was a good bit bigger than even the Shinkuu Hadouken.

"…HAOH SHOKOUKEN!"

Ken grimaced as the expanding projectile rapidly flew at his face.

"Oh, craptastic."

The Haoh Shokouken struck him full on in the jaw, causing him to sail out of the ring and dig a fairly shallow groove into the ground; he eventually stopped right next to his teammates, who quickly crowded around him to see if he was still in one piece.

"Damn, Ken," Kyo remarked flatly. "She got you."

Ken's grimace deepened into a scowl. "What, really? I hadn't realized it until the dirt started muddying up my gi."

"No time for deadpan theatrics, gentlemen," Ryu cut in. "Right now, we need to decide who's going in for the next match. Who wants to volunteer?"

Kyo rolled his shoulders, turned about on his heel, and stepped lightly into the ring, eyes locked on Yuri.

"Does that answer your question, boss man?" he asked Ryu.

Ryu sighed and scratched his head. "I suppose it does. Just try not to lose, huh?"

"I don't intend to."

The referee, after confirming that everything was ready, gave his signal to Kyo and Yuri; without hesitation, they charged at one another with as much speed as they could manage. Kyo's hands were already pulled back and lit afire, and when he got within range, he lashed out powerfully, hitting Yuri in the face before she could put up her guard and causing her to skid back a few inches.

Knowing he couldn't let up, Kyo swung out two more times - with his left fist, then his right – before grabbing Yuri by the arm, pulling her in, and slamming his elbow into her back, knocking her to the floor.

Figuring he'd done enough damage, he backed up a bit, still watching her closely. After a few struggles, Yuri managed to raise herself onto her elbows and knees, breathing heavily.

_OK, she's still good_, Kyo thought. _I may want to win this, but I can't be a brute about it or I'd be no better than Yagami...I mean, would it kill him to win by not pounding people into fleshy paste on the ground?_

At that same moment, Iori sneezed violently from the side of the ring, causing everyone to give him a sidelong glance.

"Sorry 'bout that," he muttered as he rubbed his nose. "Don't know where it came from…"

Kyo managed to suppress the snicker that almost worked its way out of his throat, and kept his attention on Yuri, who'd finally gotten up and was watching him as carefully as he was watching her. Her gi was dirty now, and streaks of sweat and dust were all over her face, arms, and legs. Most importantly, though, her eyes, while determined, were exhausted, and they were only getting more so with every passing second.

_Looks like Ken did a lot of my work for me already. All I should really need to do is nail her with a strong finisher and it'll be a wrap._

After thinking about which approach would be best, he decided to go with a classic move that combined flare with practicality…but first, he had to provoke Yuri into goofing up.

Of course, that was his specialty, and the way he grinned as he began his plan showed it.

"Hey, Yuri, you're looking tired," he remarked airily. "You sure you can keep up with the big boys?"

Yuri's eyebrow twitched, and a bit of venom crept into her glare. "What was that, Kusanagi?" she whispered.

"You heard me. I don't think you can keep up with me in your condition. You should probably forfeit before I scorch you for real."

"Don't mess with me, Kyo!" she spat. "I kicked Ken's butt, I can kick yours!"

Kyo sucked a tooth and shook his head. "You lucked out and you know it. If Ken hadn't been stupid enough to back up before trying out that Shinryu-whatever thing, then he would have nailed you while you were charging up that Haoh Shokouken. Face it. You've been lucky this whole time. Go on ahead and call in your dad. You'll be better off if he finishes this fight for you."

Yuri's hands clenched until her knuckles popped. "OK, that is IT!" she yelled. "I AM GONNA POUND YOUR FACE IN!"

Eyes blazing, she dashed forward at him, ignoring Ryo as he began to call out to her, trying to warn her.

"Yuri! YURI! It's a trick! Don't do it!!"

Unfortunately, she was too far gone, and Kyo, now nursing a flame in his hand, had a wicked grin on his face as she entered the range of his attack.

"Now, I'll show you…"

His hand swept forward, and a pillar of flame burst into being right in front of him, engulfing Yuri and stopping her in her tracks. As she yelled out in surprise, Kyo took a large step forward into the flame itself as it dissipated, becoming engulfed in its energy, before he swung at Yuri's face with a powerful right hook.

"…THE FIST OF THE KUSANAGI!"

While he struck out, several afterimages of himself striking her trailed after him, the same color as the flame pillar he'd created. Each one seemed to hit her as well, and once they disappeared – and the color of the fire disappeared from him – she went flying, skipping against the ground once or twice before landing, face-down, outside of the ring.

Kyo shook out the hand that he'd used to hit Yuri, and shoved it into his pocket.

"I told you, didn't I…? Now you've been burned."

Iori smirked. "The Mu Shiki, huh…A bit overkill, but pretty effective."

Ken, who'd been sitting on the ground after getting himself together, whistled. "Now that's some fire, man. My Shinryuken…it's fiery, but not that fiery."

While Ryo was tapping Yuri's face to make sure she was still awake, Takuma had entered the ring, slowly stretching himself out. His face was decidedly neutral, but Kyo could feel that he was less than pleased about Kyo's…strategy.

Groaning, Kyo looked to the ground, considering his options. _OK, do I forfeit and avoid Takuma beating me into goo, or do I fight like a man and get my face rearranged? _

He didn't get a chance to figure it out, though, as the referee cleared the match while he was still thinking, and Takuma had taken the opportunity to spring forward, his fist blurring as he punched Kyo repeatedly with one hand; after about twelve blows, he swung his free fist straight up, smacking into Kyo's jaw with a loud and painful THWACK.

Kyo was still awake as he sailed up into the air, head-first, then slowly flipped over and began his descent. While he faced the ground below him, he wondered dimly if God really hated him or something…

…then totally lost track of that train of thought when Takuma's fist crashed into the small of his back and knocking him flat to the ground, causing him to pass out once his chest hit the floor.

Takuma, while knowing full well that Kyo was out cold, couldn't help but direct a short speech at the younger fighter.

"Listen, kid, if you can. Next time you fight my daughter, kindly don't insult her honor or her strength, or I'll break more than just your jaw."

"…Poor bloke didn't deserve all that," Cammy muttered. "I mean, he did pull a bit of buggery, but damn…"

Sakura shook her head. "You really picked an unlucky partner, huh, Ryu-senpai?"

"I suppose I did," Ryu admitted sheepishly. "Might as well try to salvage this thing…"

He hopped up into the ring and tightened his gloves, headband, and belt in his usual brisk manner before facing Takuma with a smile on his face.

"You ready, Mr. Sakazaki?" he asked respectfully.

"I'm ready to see how you fare against Ryo," he replied. "Come on up, son, but if you lose I'm forfeiting for us. I used up all my energy beating up that Kusanagi brat, and I'm getting sort of sore."

"What?!" Ryo spluttered. "Are you trying to pressure me to death or something, you old geezer? I want to be able to enjoy this fight without having to worry about KEEPING OUR TEAM IN THIS THING!"

"Well, what would have happened if I fought Ryu and he beat me? Huh? You would've had to do it anyway, right? Now stop your whining and get in here!"

"Oh, dammit, fine," Ryo grumbled. "But you'd better not get pissed with me if I screw this up. I'm gonna be trying my best."

"Then fight with all you've got, son," Takuma replied as he stepped out of the arena, "and you'll win it."

Ryo nodded, took a deep breath, and straightened out his gi one last time before sliding into his stance, facing Ryu with the most serious look he could manage.

"Well? What're you waiting for?" he barked. "Come on!"

"Patience is a virtue," Ryu replied, watching him carefully. "When you move, I'll move. Just like that."

"Heh. Fine then!"

His knees tensed briefly before he flung himself forward with a flying kick; it was so fast that Ryu was unable to dodge, and he took the brunt of the blow on his chest. Luckily, he managed to recover himself to dodge the follow-up kick that Ryo attempted, and knocked Ryo down to Earth with a quick, strong jab.

However, Ryo hadn't landed on his face or back, but on his feet, in a crouch, which put him in a position to leap upwards with all his strength, catching Ryu in the jaw with his right fist as he rose up.

"What's with these guys ripping off the Shoryuken?" Ken muttered to himself as he watched Ryu struggle to right himself in midair. "Seriously, Yuri did it, and now Ryo did…sure, they don't turn for the rise or the fall, but it's so similar that it's practically criminal."

"Probably just a coincidence, Master," said Sean. "I mean, there are thousands of fighting styles out there, it's not like this…Kyokugen stuff…was made to mock yours or something."

"Pretty smart thought for a kid like you, Sean. You finally started reading again?"

"H-Hey! I was pretty smart before and AFTER I picked up street fighting. It's just that I prefer to think with my heart in a fight, not my head. It works. Sort of."

"Dude, it doesn't," Shingo cut in matter-of-factly. "I stomped you when we fought before, remember? Keep in mind that I'd been out of practice for 'bout half a year, to boot…"

"Shut up, Shingo…"

"All of you shut up," Iori muttered without turning around. "They're getting serious and you're distracting me."

True enough, Ryu and Ryo weren't playing around anymore, eschewing special techniques and flashy movements for straight-up punches and kicks at one another. They were so focused, in fact, that they didn't really block, either; if a stray blow couldn't be dodged, it hit, and hit hard. They'd bruised one another up pretty badly this way, but neither of them seemed to notice the blows and only hit one another harder.

Shingo shook his head in amazement. _This Ryu dude is unreal…taking all those hits without even blinking…Ryo's pretty hardy this time around too. Better try to take in as much as I can…_

Eventually, the two fighters stopped wailing on one another and broke apart, staring cautiously at one another. Ryu's lip was cut and bleeding, while a darkening bruise was showing on Ryo's forehead.

"Heh…looking tired there, Ryo. You sure you don't wanna quit now? I might have to get rough with you if you don't."

"I'm fine, man, just fine. You're the one that looks all beat up. What do you say we quit dragging this out? Haoh Shokouken vs. that Hadouken of yours would be a nice end to this…"

"Too cliché," Ryu replied. "No, I'll figure out the right way to drop you, and the right time. For now, though, let's just go with the flow."

Ryo shrugged and rolled a shoulder. "If that's what you want…I might smack you down any time, so watch yourself!"

Tense silence passed between them for several more moments, their breathing patterns evening out, and their stances solid. Suddenly, Ryo dashed forward and punched at Ryu; his attempt was a bit slow, though, and Ryu dodged easily before shoving a fist in his gut. Gasping for air, Ryo withdrew and attempted to get his bearings, but Ryu had hit his groove and struck out again, catching Ryo in the face this time and bowling the blonde over.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit! _Ryo swore to himself._ I was too bushed to pull of the Zanretsuken starter right…and I can't see a damn thing now…he's gonna kick my ass!_

And, true to his prediction, Ryu did proceed to kick much ass…or at least he would have if he too wasn't feeling worn out. Instead, the white-clad warrior slid smoothly towards Ryo, grabbed at the orange gi, and tossed his hapless foe powerfully over his shoulder and out of the ring.

Yelling in surprise, Ryo went sailing through the air and landed face-first next to his sister, who wailed in surprise when he landed and began to shake him nonstop once he'd settled into place.

"Nii-chan, nii-chan! Nii-chan, answer me! Are you OK?"

"…Are you being sarcastic?" mumbled Ryo through a mouthful of dirt. "Because it AIN'T FUNNY."

Ryu sighed and sat down Indian style, fists on his calves as usual. "THAT was a long one," he muttered. "Better not let it run on next time…"

Ken stepped into the ring and offered Ryu a hand. "Yo, buddy, c'mon, we gotta make space for the other competitors. You can relax – me, Iori, and Kyo can handle any other matches we run up against."

"Fine by me, man."

As Ryu and Ken moved back over to the group, Sakura and Chun-Li patted him on the back almost simultaneously, speaking many, many praises of him, while everyone else made a general scene about Ryu's performance (excepting the cool-as-cucumber Iori and Kyo, naturally). However, no one realized that the match had been watched very carefully by a number of the other contestants, especially a certain blonde woman in a blue cloak, accompanied by three others – two guys and a girl, to be exact.

"Kusanagi seems to have become a bit weaker," Wind noted aloud. "A shame, really. His teammates aren't so bad though, except maybe Yagami, but we won't be able to judge for a while."

"His fires must have already started to die down," the younger, smaller brunette of the two guys pointed out. He had on a large medallion and wore a loose-necked T-shirt over a white sleeveless top and khaki cargo shorts. "Darn shame. I wanted to match up with him again, but at this point, it's fair to say he's no contest."

The other male was white-haired, tall, and buff, with ring earrings, a black band around his throat with a heart attached, a dark pink long-sleeved shirt, and khaki pants; he snorted dismissively after the brown-haired one spoke. "You're a card, Chris," he grumbled. "Always looking for a fight even though you're a punk kid…"

"Hey, Yashiro, don't get mad just because YOU didn't get to fight that Goro Daimon guy. We may have been registered for this tournament legally, but we're supposed to be dead, remember? We've made it a point to stay out of sight and we'll keep it that way until we have to get out there and fight."

"…I don't like it. But you're right…I guess."

The other female was a brunette as well, with two braids that streamed down her back, heart-shaped earrings, and bangs that covered up her eyes and large, pouty lips; she wore blue jeans and a white top. As Yashiro pouted to himself, she put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Come on, Yashi-kun, don't get so down," she crooned. "It's all right. We'll get to beat up these losers soon enough…and accomplish our mission, no less."

"Without dying this time, I hope," replied Yashiro.

Sighing, Wind clapped her hands together. "Break it up, you three. Yashiro, Shermie, Chris, this is serious. We've got to focus here. That Crimson fellow may have de-powered Yagami, but Kusanagi could be a problem for him…We also have to consider the possibility that Crimson could be defeated and the treasures could be restored. If that's the case, Yagami and Kusanagi will have to die so that they can't block our efforts...and they're still tough. Take no chances, and do not confront them alone. They are still dangerous."

Chris nodded. "Gotcha, 'ne-san'."

"What he said," Yashiro murmured.

"Of course," replied Shermie with a wink.

"Good. Now, let's continue to watch…any of these fighters could attempt to oppose us, and we must know their weaknesses if they try."

All three nodded in understanding and continued to observe quietly from their hidden corner, determined to fulfill their 'mission' no matter what the cost; they'd done it once before, after all, and they were determined to do it again, or as many times as they needed to, to ensure that it was accomplished forever.

* * *

Author's Notes (11/4/08): Yo! Election Day's today in the US of A. Things are gonna get crazy and stuff, maybe, but the only way to know is to hang around, huh? Well, we'll know soon enough what's up. Have a great day, folks, and the next installment will roll out eventually.


	9. Tempers Flare, Soulful Fists Clash

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 9: Tempers Flare, Soulful Fists Clash

* * *

While Ryu and his friends were celebrating the Ansatsuken Team's victory, Leona and the Ikari Warriors, standing on the other side of the arena, were watching them as intently as Wind's team had been. Soon, the next match was called, and the next contestants entered the ring.

As they continued to watch what was going on, Leona's mind began to drift back to thoughts she'd been nursing for a while. She, Ralf, Clark, and Whip had been briefed extensively after Leona's run-in with Wind, even though Ralf was in more of a mood to beat the utter crap out of Wind rather than talk about how to discern what she was up to. Instead, Heidern had preempted any talk of attacking and emphasized a focus on observation of the keenest order.

"It is true that tournaments organized in the past have often had the involvement of…some dubious backers," he had explained. "But that isn't a reason to assume the same this time. And even if that is the case, this Wind woman may not even be involved with them…though she could have some less-than-wholesome motives. One way or another, we have to be assured of what moves we make before we make them. Therefore, we will OBSERVE before we act. Understood?"

Naturally, everyone agreed, and so they'd been observing, and observing, and observing…even though it was driving Ralf crazy, mostly because they hadn't had their own preliminary matches left. Even now, the bandanna-wearing mercenary was rubbing his knee, his irritation plain on his face and growing with every passing second.

Eventually, he roared in irritation, got up, and began to pace incessantly, mumbling something about 'rigged match selection'. Clark, wearing his favorite cap and sunglasses, shook his head and shrugged.

"They'll get to us eventually, Ralf," he replied. "No point in stressing yourself out."

Ralf grunted and sucked a tooth obstinately. "I know, man, but can't I just have a minute to be irritated about it? Damn!"

"You've had more than a minute," pointed out Leona quietly as she watched one of the fighters in the arena, a young, white-haired African woman, perform a sweep that led into a handstand kick, bowling over her surprised opponent, a man with an American flag tattoo on his shoulder and a strange flattop-like hairstyle. "It shouldn't be an issue anymore."

"You know what I meant, Leona."

"OK, OK, OK, let's just chill," Whip cut in, smoothing her short brown hair with one hand and fixing Ralf with a glare that very clearly said 'shut the hell up now, kthnx?' "Leona and I are doing the job that the commander ASSIGNED us to do, and it's difficult to do it with you nattering away, Ralf."

"OK, _Sara_, whatever you say…"

The end of a whip cracked right next to his face, and he fell over on his butt, surprised by the sudden attack. Whip easily and quickly recalled her weapon of choice, re-wrapping it deftly and attaching it to her belt.

"We've been over this, Ralf," she said sweetly. "Who's the only one allowed to call me by my real name?"

"Uhm…K'…K', ma'am…Because he's your brother…"

"OK, so you do remember. Good. Now, let's sit and watch the matches, hmm?"

Ralf dropped to the ground like a rock and watched on, not even making so much as a sound as the young white-haired woman used a powerful drop-kick to knock her opponent out cold. Once the referee called the match, a dreadlocked, well-muscled fellow only wearing a pair of pants that had "MAXIMUM" written on both legs hopped over to her and slapped her on the back.

Clark rubbed his shoulders idly and looked up to the match board to see who was next. Once the scrolling cursor finished its work, he smiled to himself and patted Ralf on the shoulder.

"Yo, Ralf…look at the screen."

Ralf blinked and looked up, then grinned so widely that his face nearly split in half.

_Match 6: The Ikari Warriors vs. Fei Long_

"YEAH, BABY!" he whooped. "That's pretty convenient, eh? Just one guy…should be easy pickings. Don't worry, guys, I'll go in first!"

"Be careful, Ralf," said Leona quietly as he stepped up.

Ralf blinked and blushed a bit, then nodded. "Don't worry, Leona, I got this made."

* * *

Fei Long was a lithe, flexible, youthful-looking fighter, bouncing on the balls of his feet as Ralf entered the arena. He wore a pair of simple, loose pants and black, closed-toe slippers, and his toned upper body was in plain view as he swept his mop of dark brown hair out of his face.

"Hey, you!" Ralf called to him while swinging a beefy arm. "Don't get too smug! See these guns? They ain't for show!"

"Duly noted, sir," replied Fei Long. "Kindly remember that mine aren't either…"

Laughing, Ralf adjusted his camo-patterned bandanna and crouched down, looking like a track star that was about to kick off from the line. The ref, seeing this, quickly gave his signal and moved out of the ring; as soon as he was gone, Ralf charged forward with speed that didn't match his bulky frame, rapidly approaching Fei Long despite the fact that they were at the edges of opposite sides of the arena.

While surprised at Ralf's speed, Fei Long didn't let it faze him, leaping to the side right as Ralf was about to hit him with a shoulder tackle. As Ralf skidded to a halt to avoid ringing himself out and to readjust for another charge, he heard a loud, passionate "WA-TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Confused, he turned around…only to see Fei Long's foot getting really close to his face. Thinking quickly, he tilted his neck to put his head out of the kick's range, then used a gut-busting punch to catch Fei Long right in the stomach – at this point, Fei's overall forward momentum had almost given out, which meant that Ralf's punch sent him flying. It only got worse for Fei Long when he hit the ground, as he skipped off like a rock thrown at a pond.

At the peak of his second ascent, he finally managed to get a hold of his bearings and pulled a flip in midair; now upright, he was able to see Ralf…charging at him again, and closing fast.

Worriedly, Fei Long cast a quick look behind him before swearing silently; if Ralf hit him with the tackle, then he'd get knocked out of the ring for sure. But he was in midair and had no defensive options open to him.

_In that case, I might as well try something more offensive…Still risky, but I have nothing to lose._

With another cry, Fei Long kicked out again, striking Ralf in the face as the Ikari Warrior slowed down to attack, pushing him back; naturally, physics caused Fei Long to move backwards a bit, but not far enough to put him out of the ring. Ralf, stunned, stumbled back a step or two, allowing Fei Long to land in peace, circle around Ralf, and retreat quite a few feet.

"Aw, dammit," Ralf groaned as he rubbed his face. "That was totally unexpected, man. What the hell…"

"Sorry, friend, but this is too much fun for me to be defeated by ring-out," replied Fei Long. "You'll have to beat me down to win."

After blinking once or twice to clear the stars out of his eyes, Ralf slapped his cheek to bring himself around and nodded. "OK, that's your game. Well, that's fine by me…it wouldn't be any fun to win like that, anyways. Let's go wild!"

With a grunt, he leapt up, hurtling forward almost as fast as his top charging speed. Fei Long hopped back lightly as he landed with a powerful CRACK; unfortunately for him, Ralf was still close enough to push a fist into his face, followed by several more punches that crashed into Fei's upper body and stomach, and finishing his little combo with a straight punch that blasted the poor sap halfway across the ring for the second time in several minutes.

At the ringside, Blue Mary whistled. "That Ralf is still ridiculously strong, huh…? Geez, those Ikari Warriors are not to be messed with."

"Ikari Warriors?" Ryu asked. "They sound somewhat familiar…"

"They're mercenaries," Iori said languidly, looking over his shoulder at Ryu. "Their field commander, Leona…she's got Orochi blood in her, too. Just like me. Goes just as crazy, too…"

Ryu frowned. "OK…so if you lose it, so will she. What can we expect aside from the craziness?"

"…You have to see it to believe it."

"Hey, pipe down," Cammy growled. "I'm trying to watch Fei get pummeled here!"

Iori and Mary blinked in surprise at Cammy's unusually irritated voice, and before either of them could ask, Ryu merely said, "They've got history of some kind. Don't even bother asking what. They've just got it."

Of course, Fei Long wasn't focused on Cammy's caustic stare or the comments of the crowd; instead, he was focused on trying to get himself together…again.

_This man…his punches are brutally direct,_ Fei Long thought. _And his speed almost matches mine. Unless I work around those traits, he will be a difficult opponent to beat…_

Of course, there was something else that Fei Long hadn't taken into account; while Ralf's speed was the real deal, he hadn't quite perfected running about at high speeds for constant or extended periods of time. Thus, the reason why he had been limiting his all-out forays to short bursts. Now, though, he couldn't keep up the pace – not if he expected to keep throwing the same level of power into his punches.

So he followed his usual course of action for this situation – he stopped to catch his breath, keeping his eyes off of Fei Long for a while. Granted this reprieve, Fei Long landed without incident, though he could feel his body (his stomach specifically) aching like all hell. Naturally, once he was back up on his feet, Fei Long could also see that Ralf was winded, and immediately decided to undertake the most natural course of action…dashing directly at Ralf with a fist cocked back and ready to go.

"WA-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

Ralf, groaning and panting, had time to look up and see Fei Long's hand before his face twisted into a mask of intense displeasure.

"Oh, sh-"

For Ralf, the world and everything else was very suddenly eclipsed by a flash of black, white, and utter pain. While he was still blinded, Fei Long kept up his punching assault, sliding effortlessly along the ground to strike him repeatedly in the gut and upper chest. Then, with another loud cry, he backhanded Ralf in the face, sending him flying; even as the larger man flew out of the arena and landed flat on his back outside of it, his fist was extended and shaking.

Even when Ralf landed hard enough to make a miniature crater in the ground, his teammates didn't look too worried; in fact, Clark went so far as to nonchalantly nudge Ralf with his foot, as if he was only asleep and not unconscious.

"Yo. You OK?"

"Do I look OK, Clark?" he muttered. "I mean, I just got battered by a crapload of punches, and now I'm on the floor, my face is aching, and I'm seeing stars in the middle of the damned day. You tell me if that qualifies as being all FREAKIN' RIGHT!"

"…Oh, geez, Ralf, no need to scream your head off," Whip said. "We'll get some payback for you…or at least, one of us will. Who wants to go in and get this guy out of our way?"

Leona stood up, rolled her shoulders, and dusted off her red T-shirt. "I'll go in. I haven't had a chance to see how much stronger I've gotten."

"You sure about that?" asked Clark. "I mean…he's pretty tough. I mean, he took two of Ralf's punches straight on, and he's still standing; at worst, he seems a bit sore."

"I'm sure that I can handle him. His technique is flashy, but I should be able to evade him easily enough."

"All right then, Leona. Kick some butt out there."

Whip tilted her head a bit and grinned. "You've got this in the bag. Go on ahead."

"All right then. I'll cut him down to size nice and quickly."

She stepped into the ring calmly, bent down to make sure her green combat boots were tied, then stood up and entered her fighting stance – fingers straight out and arms bent to keep them close to her body.

"I'll try to end this as efficiently as possible…" she told Fei Long in her calm, detached voice, "but I can't make promises about whether or not you'll come out totally unscathed."

Fei Long smiled in a friendly way. "Well, I suppose I will just have to be exceedingly careful, but in all honesty I am not afraid to take a few hits."

"You won't be getting hit…" she murmured. "You can count on that."

The referee gave his signal and moved out of the way; unlike Ralf, Leona didn't charge in blindly, preferring to wait for Fei Long to move first. Realizing this, Fei Long decided to lead in, sliding forward with a powerful punch; Leona, recognizing the move as one of the ones he had used on Ralf earlier, anticipated its movement and dodged easily, then swung her hand in a horizontal chopping motion. The attack didn't even touch Fei Long, but a sudden slash mark appeared across his abdomen, and he staggered back, clutching at it. To his surprise, it wasn't bleeding, but it did hurt quite a bit.

"What…was that?" he asked aloud, more to himself than anyone else.

Ryu blinked in astonishment._ To create cuts in a body with nothing but her bare hands…Is that what you were talking about, Iori…?_

"As I said, I was uncertain as to whether or not this fight would end with you unharmed…I can reduce the overall strength of my attacks, but…as you can see, they will still hurt. Should you wish to stop, I won't think any less of you."

"I am afraid that will not be happening. This may seem somewhat stubborn of me, but I do not believe in backing down from any fight, any time. Your techniques are very interesting, and I'd like to see more of them. Restrain yourself as you must, but do the best that you can."

Leona nodded curtly. "As you wish."

She suddenly slid low and slashed again, knocking Fei Long off his feet and into the air; she followed up her attack with a somersault, and a visible crescent of energy could be seen surrounding her body, tagging Fei Long's pant leg and ripping it. He went flying even farther afterwards, and barely managed to recover himself upon landing. When he did stand up, he immediately buckled and grabbed at the spot where he'd been kicked; the wound was bloodless, but still sore, exactly as before.

Leona, having landed before him, was already standing again, cool and collected. The lack of actual banter from her was actually a bit disconcerting to him, and since she seemed to be using the time to think, he continued to press on instead of letting her plan her next move, attacking with a barrage of fierce punches. Rather than dodging them directly, though, Leona merely back-stepped, avoiding them in the least wasteful way possible.

From the corner of her eye, she could see that she was close to stepping right out of the ring, and so, she ducked under his last punch, slid forward, and slashed at his side as she went by. When he hunched over in pain, she was standing up, and grabbed him by the neck.

"It's time to finish this up," she murmured as she detached one of her triangular earrings with her free hand. "This may hurt somewhat, but this is the only chance I'll have to do this, and by proxy, the only chance I'll have of winning this match before you try something I hadn't anticipated."

Saying no more, she attached the earring to Fei Long's pants, tossed him to the ground and walked away, stopping at the edge of the ring. About three seconds later, he was engulfed in a large explosion, and he went flying straight up, a trail of smoke following him as he exited the cloud's explosion. Eventually, his momentum carried him out of the ring, and soon enough, he landed on the ground with a very loud, very painful CRASH; by then, Leona was stepping down and out of the ring, and was back with her team.

"That's that," she said simply. "Ralf, are you feeling better?"

"Much, thanks for asking," he replied. "You really did him dirty with that Heart Attack, though. I mean, geez, a V-Slasher would've done the trick…"

"…It would have been highly showy, and I might have made him bleed if I had done it. I don't…like to see blood. You know that."

Ralf grinned shamefacedly and sighed. "Yeah, yeah…my bad, I forgot. Well, good job anyways. You were awesome."

Leona didn't miss the slight warmth in his voice, and nodded. "Thank you, Ralf."

"Eh, 's nothing…"

Sardonic, dry clapping suddenly broke the growing silence between her and Ralf.

"My, my. Quite the impressive match, Leona."

Leona flinched at the sound of Wind's voice, but kept a straight face as she turned to face her.

"…What do you want from me…?" she asked Wind bitterly. "If you're just trying to make me upset, I assure you that your presence alone is doing it."

"What, I can't congratulate you on a job well done? You're so sensitive…"

"Leona, this is her, isn't it…? The one that bothered you outside of town?" Ralf cut in sharply. "If it is, I can see why you hate her. She's a pain in the ass, all right…"

Wind's eyes narrowed as she turned to glare, and Ralf suddenly felt as if he were being crushed under the willpower of a demon; his skin and blood went cold, and he found it difficult to think or speak. Leona, sensing this, stepped between them, matching Wind's fierce gaze with her own.

"Do you wish to create a scene? Then, by all means…keep trying to intimidate my teammate like you are right now. I'll put you in more pain than you've ever felt in your lifetime."

Whip, seeing Leona's barely restrained fury, reached for her whip, while Clark adjusted his glasses and hat. Their orders were to keep the peace, but if Wind pushed it, they had full authorization to subdue her and bring her in.

"Don't believe, Leona, that I am alone here," replied Wind without missing a beat. "Shermie…Yashiro…Chris. Could you please come here?"

As if by magic, the three appeared behind her immediately, each with a devilish smile on their face; Leona had to fight the urge to bodily recoil from them, a natural reaction given that they were supposed to be…_dead._

"…Who the hell ARE you?" Leona finally managed to ask, her calm façade beginning to crack at the unsettling sight of the people behind Wind. "How the hell did you find those three? They died years ago. I saw their damn bodies!"

"Don't you worry about us, Leona," Shermie replied sweetly. "We've got our ways, and they aren't quite your business. Know that we're here, and that we will do what we must do."

"Also know that if you beat on our team leader, we'll beat on YOU," Yashiro added as his grin widened ferociously.

"Yeah?" Ralf spat. "Well, then, let's…!"

"All right, hold up, wait a minute…"

Wind's team looked about to see who was speaking to them, and their faces twisted in displeasure as Team Ansatsuken, the Cherry Blossom Brigade, and Team Justice approached them, with Kyo and Iori leading the pack; in fact, Kyo was the one that had just interrupted, and he looked pretty irate himself.

"What Leona said is true. You assholes are supposed to be dead…but Shermie was quite right; it doesn't matter how you came back, but since you're here…we'll kick your asses any which way we have to."

"Speak for yourself," Ken muttered, his face decidedly neutral. "These folks didn't start anything with me, I've got no part in this."

Cammy, Mary, Chun-Li, Sakura, Sean, Shingo, and even Ryu all nodded their assent to Ken's words, but Kyo merely sucked a tooth obstinately and cracked his knuckles.

"I'm completely capable of doing this by myself anyways…no way you pricks could beat me. Don't think I'm boasting idly…'cause I really will do it."

"Prideful as always, huh, Kyo?" Chris said crossly. "Well, whatever. We don't need to make a scene, so we won't…but don't you think that this tournament will end without you and Yagami dying…"

With that, a gust picked up, and they disappeared from sight. Leona's steely gaze, however, didn't soften, and it wasn't until Ralf put a hand on her shoulder that she calmed down even a little bit. Without even looking at Kyo, she nodded curtly, then turned back to her teammates.

"Let's go. We need to make a report of this to the Commander."

Ralf, Clark, and Whip nodded, and followed Leona's lead, walking off to another corner of the stadium; the three teams watched them go with a tiny bit of confusion.

"Their commander…?" Sean asked. "Iori, I thought you said Leona was…"

"…their field commander," corrected Iori languidly. "Heidern's the big dog. He was a member of the active team but left for some reason…"

"And what about those other people that Kyo said were supposed to be DEAD?!" burst in Ken, his impassive look dropping like a rock. "Are you trying to tell me they're freaking ZOMBIES or something?! I mean, seriously…what have you gotten us into?"

"Look, if I were you, I wouldn't worry about it," Kyo replied simply. "They were garbage before, they're garbage now, and even that Sean kid could beat the crap outta them."

"HEY!"

"OK, Kyo, dial it down, huh?" Ryu said, stepping between Kyo and Sean as the latter began to inch forward with an 'I'ma kill yo' ass' look on his face. "We get it, already. No need to keep stepping on people's pride to get your point across."

"Those three were working with Orochi," added Iori. "He gets like that when it comes to them. That girl, though, their leader…she wasn't around all those years back…yet they seem to know her. And her clothes…they're unusually familiar."

"'Familiar' how?" Chun-Li asked. "You know more than you're telling. I can hear it in your voice. Spill it."

Iori arched an eyebrow and smirked, but said nothing else as he turned back to the arena. Chun-Li briefly considered kicking him in the head until he squealed, but decided against it, opting to take her teammates by their shoulders and pull them off somewhere else – after giving Ryu a sly, playful wink.

"We'll be right back, boys," she crooned over her shoulder. "I've got some things to discuss with the team in private and all that."

"Ryu-senpai, she's totally into you," Sakura pointed out in a far-too-innocent voice once Chun-Li was out of earshot. "You should take her out on a date sometime."

"Wh-what? Oh, come on… Don't be ridiculous, Sakura…"

"Kid's got a point," Kyo said with a nod. "At dinner last night, she did seem real happy to see you, and your conversation was pretty flirty…"

"OK, OK, cut it out! There's no way that's she's interested, seriously!"

"Is so," Ken cut in with a stupidly large grin on his face. "And you're just waiting for a chance to reciprocate, ain't ya?"

Ryu's face turned bright red. "I am not! Dammit, you guys, quit messing with me already! God, you're so freaking immature, you know that?!"

"Why can't you just admit it?" replied Ken as he pulled Ryu into a headlock and began delivering a ferocious noogie. "It'd be so much easier on you if you would!"

"A-Argh! I'll flip you right now if you don't let go of me…! Dammit, Ken! GRRNNNH!"

Everyone broke out into raucous laughter as Ryu continued his futile struggle, even though some other teams started to stare at them and the next match went up on the board; Iori, who'd been ignoring the whole thing, looked up to the board in curiosity. When he saw who was fighting next, his teeth set in a feral grimace and his eyes narrowed tightly.

"So the bastard's finally shown up," he growled. "Well, then…let's see what he's done with what he's...stolen."

* * *

Author's Notes (11/14/08): Had to split this one in half again, and this time I cliffhangered it on purpose, heh heh heh. I know that the way Match 6 turned out might've been a bit disappointing to Fei Long fans, and that you're all wondering 'What history could Fei and Cammy have together anyways?' I would've answered it here, but the chapter was just getting too long. Maybe next time, maybe another time...we'll see.


	10. Real Ninjas Shouldn't be Wearing Red

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfic by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 10: Real Ninjas Shouldn't be Wearing Red

* * *

"Chun, you know, you should stop messing around with him and just ask him out," Cammy said bluntly. "Poor bloke's addled enough as it is without you dropping hints like rocks at random intervals."

"I'm not dropping hints," Chun-Li replied. "I'm just teasing him, is all…I mean, come on, he did mellow out a bit, but he's still the same old Ryu deep down, looking to further himself as a fighter and all. Romance is probably not something he can handle. Now stop sidetracking me and let's get to brass tacks. I pulled you guys aside because I'm very, VERY suspicious. Yagami knows more than he's telling and he won't share. Keep on your toes, and be ready to call in your contacts if we need to."

"On YAGAMI?" Mary spluttered. "Come on. He's a bit criminal, yeah, but we shouldn't have to blow a favor on someone like him."

"No, no…I meant with this whole thing with that other girl's team – the cloaked one. I mean, they apparently faked their deaths, or something. That's suspicious in and of itself, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," interrupted Cammy, with all her usual tact. "Don't worry. My old friends Juni and Juli are on call anyways…MI6 was always suspicious of tournaments like this and gave me orders that more or less parallel what you just told us."

Chun-Li sighed and shrugged simultaneously. "Those Brits are always so paranoid…Well, girls, we've discussed, so let's head back to the guys before they think we up and ran off on them."

Mary grinned and popped a thumbs-up. "Hear, hear."

They turned jauntily on their heels and strode back over to their friends, smiling innocently as if they'd been talking about nothing…then, they saw the dark, angry looks on Kyo and Iori's faces, as well as the slight discomfort of everyone else, and their smiles faded pretty quickly.

"What's the deal?" Cammy finally asked, managing to talk around the growing lump of nervousness in her throat. "Someone die or somit?"

Iori grunted and pointed stonily at the match-up board; naturally, the Justice Team's gaze followed it.

_Match 7: Ash Crimson vs. Necro_

In the ring, the two were already fighting in full force; Ash, with his pale blonde hair and maroon-and-black clothing, was leaping, dashing, and prancing lithely around the bald, snow-white Necro, whose strangely echoey grunts and yells echoed through the ring as he flailed his stretchy arms about.

"We knew this rat bastard was going to show his face eventually," Kyo muttered angrily, his indifferent tone intensely bitter. "Just didn't think it'd be so soon."

"And he keeps looking over here with this weird-o smile…" added Sakura hesitantly. "It's freaking creepy."

As she spoke, Ash quickly moved in close to Necro and somersaulted, catching him on the jaw with both feet and causing green flames to engulf him. Given that Ash had put little force into his upwards movement, he landed while Necro was still flying upwards. This gave him just enough time to look over at the three teams with the 'weird-o smile' plastered on his face. However, Sakura's brief description hadn't done it justice – it was more like a mix between playful amusement and outright sadism, and it seemed to make a single, assured promise.

_None of you will defeat me._

Then, he turned away, moved right to where Necro was about to hit the ground, and thrust a powerful straight into his foe's stomach, shooting him out of the ring like a meteor.

Without even breaking his stride, Ash ran a hand through his hair, stepped down, and walked away coolly, even as Necro's agonized groans rose up from the furrow in the ground that he'd carved with his own body, his limbs slackening. The arena was dead quiet as Necro was picked up by medical staff and taken over to the medical tent, followed by a young-looking, ponytailed girl in red, and no one on the Justice, Ansatsuken, or Cherry Blossom teams spoke as they watched the instant replay reaffirm the very simple, very brutal beating that had put Necro down for the count – most of which the Justice Team had actually missed while Chun-Li had been talking to them.

When all was said and done, it was Iori that finally broke the uncomfortable silence that had come between all of them.

"He did all that…and he was holding back, to boot."

"No way…" Ryu whispered. "You have got to be joking. That was not a restrained man. No way in hell was he holding back!"

Even Shingo, who'd seen Ash beat the crap out of Iori in person, was pretty cowed. Nevertheless, he had enough sense of mind to confirm Iori's assertion. "Oh, no, he was. He's got moves that can seal up your strength…and maybe even something real destructive since he took Iori's powers…he is not someone to take lightly."

No one else spoke after that, and silence settled over them again…then, someone clapped Sakura on the shoulder, and everyone spun around, ready to unleash flames, Hadoukens, or punches on the unsuspecting interloper…at least, until they realized that said interloper was a chipper-looking, brown-haired girl with a big grin on her face. Ryu and a few of the others recognized her as Sakura's other teammate.

"Yo, Sakura. What'd I miss?" she said sportily.

"Hinata, you rascal!" replied Sakura as a relieved grin split her face. "Where were you? After the first match, you just vanished into thin air…"

"Bathroom," replied Hinata with a slight tinge of red at her cheeks. "I think I had something…that didn't agree with me. Maybe."

"TMI!" groaned Sean with a disgusted look on his face. "T-M-FREAKIN'-I!"

Hinata huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, sorry…Sakura asked, anyways, and the way you all were looking after that last match, I'd have sworn that someone's cat died or something… I didn't want to broach the subject too soon. Now, if someone could kindly bring me up to speed…"

While the indirect mention of Crimson's name soured everyone's mood again, Kyo actually looked as if he was going to explain what was going on to her. But right as he opened his mouth to speak, the matchboard displayed the next set of fighters.

_Match 8: Shinobi Alliance vs. Team Yoga Thunder_

"Yoga Thunder?" Mary asked incredulously. "The hell kind of name is that?!"

Ryu shrugged as he watched the two teams enter the ring. "I have no idea, but that Shinobi Alliance thing sounds…sounds…" Suddenly, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "OH MY LORD. Ken, are you seeing this?!"

"I'm trying not to, man!" the blonde American retorted sharply with his hands over his eyes. "I'm married, dammit, married, dammit, married…"

Chun-Li, Cammy, Sakura, Hinata, and Sean were no less stunned-looking, while Kyo, Shingo, Iori, and Mary were staring quizzically at their reaction.

"Mind sharing?" Iori asked flatly.

"Why should he need to?!" Cammy retorted loudly. "Look at that brown-haired chick with the ponytail! How the hell can she be wearing an outfit like that with…assets…like those?!"

The woman in question overheard this, and strode over to the edge of the ring, staring directly at Cammy. Seeing her up close made even Ryu blush in slight embarrassment; her red-and-white top was like a sleeveless kimono, with a DEEP cut in front. With a strip of cloth around her waist – which had two tassels dangling down in the back – a tight pair of short dark leggings, and a fan loosely in hand, she looked nothing like a ninja or a yoga practitioner.

"I will have you know that this is the traditional garb of the Shiranui ninja clan," she said proudly, with an undercurrent of irritation in her voice. "Mock it all you like, but it is what it is and I am not ashamed to wear it!"

"All I want to know is who designed it! Bloody pervert, I bet! Look, even my prude buddy and his womanizing training partner are shocked outta their noggins!"

Ryu's blush deepened, but Ken uncovered his eyes and shot Cammy a dirty look at the womanizer comment.

"You're quite rude, Little Miss Muffet. If I were you, I'd stop talking before I beat you AND these Yoga Thunder guys up!"

Cammy's eyebrow twitched violently, and her eyes narrowed to slits. Thinking quickly, Chun-Li grabbed her and began to pull her enraged teammate away from the ring with all her might.

"YOU BLOODY TART, I'LL RIP YOU A NEW ARSEHOLE, THEN TAKE THE OLD ONE AND…"

No one said a word, and the Shiranui lady flounced back happily to the center of the ring, attaching herself to the arm of a long-haired blonde guy wearing a white gi with a red flame design along the edges. Despite the look of growing sheepishness on his face, he couldn't bring himself to shake her off, and in the end, a girl in a khaki outfit with baggy pants, a sleeveless top, dark brown mask, and dark brown undershirt pulled her brightly-dressed teammate away from the poor fellow.

"Focus, Mai!" the girl said sharply. "Andy will be here for you to giggle over later."

"I know, Ibuki, I know," Mai huffed obstinately. "I just want to hold him a bit, you know?"

Andy didn't say much of anything, but the chagrin on his face spoke volumes for him. Thankfully, he was spared from saying much more when the referee shooed them all out of the ring, except for Mai and her opponent from the Yoga Thunder team, a…green creature with bright orange hair, brown pants, and a pair of thick black anklets. When it looked at Mai, it hooted loudly and grinned.

"Hey! Nice outfit, lady! Too bad Halloween's over and done with!" it cried in a deep, distinctly masculine voice. "I'm not gonna hold back, just so you know! Ready to get shocked?!"

A vein popped out on Mai's forehead at mention of her outfit. "OK, now I'm mad…You weird-looking…person…I'm gonna make you FRY!"

The rage in her voice caused the ref to swan-dive out of the ring, raising a hand to start the match only when he was well removed from the area. As soon as he did, Mai dashed straight at her opponent and tossed a multitude of fans at him, a half-crazed, half-furious look on her face.

"KACHOUSEN ARASHI!"

Unfazed, the green man tucked into a forward roll, moving about as fast as a bowling ball chucked by Superman and bowling Mai over easily. As soon as he came out of his attack, he leapt up to grab Mai, who was still in midair, and grinned happily as he announced his next move.

"SHOCK DROP!"

Every single person in the arena stared in utter surprise as he pile-drove Mai into the ground from the air…while engulfing them both in what appeared to be some kind of yellow, black, and white ELECTRICITY.

"Blanka hasn't changed one bit," Ryu remarked casually to Ken over on the sidelines. "I hope he doesn't wind up burning off that girl's clothes, though…that might be…somewhat uncomfortable."

Ken nodded with something of a grimace on his face; behind him, Sean and Shingo had been privy to the whole conversation, which resulted in severe nosebleeds and unconsciousness for both young men.

Of course, while all this was going on, a match was still being fought. Luckily for Mai, Blanka's attack hadn't caused her clothing to sustain any damage; unluckily, it left her feeling as if she'd been drinking for the last hour or so. Blanka hadn't pulled out of it unscathed either; he may have come out of the attack earlier, but he still seemed somewhat disoriented, from what Mai could see.

"Damn…argh…Been using shocks for years and I still can't get a grip when I use that move…"

By the time he managed to stop lurching about, Mai was standing in front of him, her hands clenched and shaking right at her sides.

"You touched me," she whispered angrily. "You little pervert. You…TOUCHED…ME."

"P-pervert?" Blanka stuttered blankly. "Look, all I did was grab you, very generically at that. How is that…?"

"YOU WERE TOUCHING MY CHEST!"

"Whoa! Hold on just one minute! Are you NUTS?! What makes you think I would EVER do something like that?!"

"YOU JUST DID!"

Blanka would have protested again, but a fan had crashed into his skull, followed by several more, each hitting with the strength of a bull behind them. The end result was only natural; Mai storming out of the ring as Blanka lay in an insensate heap with steam rising from the bumps on his forehead.

"Someone else go in for me!" she snapped. "Stupid lecherous little animal…"

Ibuki and Andy looked at one another in slight consternation.

"Rock-paper-scissors?" Andy suggested after a while.

"Um, yeah, I guess…"

"Don't even bother with that," a woman's voice said in a lazy, but interruptive, drawl. "I'll go in. Wrap it all up nice and easy."

Unsurprised, Ibuki and Andy looked behind them. Sure enough, the voice was none other than that of Maki Genryusai…their fourth teammate, and ostensibly one of the toughest members of the group. Her blonde hair was in a loose topknot that billowed down her back, and she wore a simple red-and-white vest, similar to Mai's but without the deep cut, as well as tight, knee-length, dark-blue leggings. She had white bandages wrapped around her arms from her wrists to her elbows and twirled a tonfa idly in her right hand as she sauntered past Andy and Ibuki and stepped up into the ring, stopping at the edge to look down on her teammates.

"Sorry...would've been back sooner, but there were long lines at the concession stand. Why didn't any of you tell her that the guy hadn't even meant to do it? I was watching the replay, and he grabbed her from behind; he wouldn't have seen where his hands were. Felt it, maybe, but he wasn't exactly-"

"We get it," Andy replied bluntly. "Could you focus on the next match, please? I have to try and calm Mai down."

"Good luck, dude," remarked Ibuki. "She looked pissed. I mean PISSED."

Andy looked over at her with a slightly cocky grin. "I flirt with death whenever I think of telling her that I still kinda think of her like a sister. Trust me, Ibuki-san, I'm going to be totally fine."

Ibuki shrugged, but said nothing else as Andy quickly sprinted to catch up with Mai. Maki, meanwhile, had walked into the center of the ring, tonfa still twirling. Blanka had been removed from the ring, and now she was facing a thin, brown man with a skull necklace, red face-paint, a simple pair of torn shorts with a rope belt, and a single bracelet on each hand.

"All right, man, don't you bore me," Maki announced with a flat tone to her voice. "I didn't come here for a disappointing fight."

The man didn't even bat an eye, fixing her with a pupil-less, examining stare. "You are rather…uncouth, young lady. Have you ever considered studying Yoga as a way to clear your mind and uplift your body?"

"Bushin-ryuu's my game, oyaji. Nothing else. Now, let's get goin'."

"Very well, then."

The ref gave the sign, and at once, the man's arm shot forward…literally. Maki blinked in shock as it stretched clear across the ring, aiming to hit her, but managed to recover from the surprise just in time to sidestep it nimbly before running in.

_Let's see you try long range now…I'll drop you like a rock and knock you out cold!_

She went in for a sliding kick, aiming to trip the old geezer up. Then, he did something else that was completely out of nowhere and honestly very ridiculous…he shot FIRE from his mouth. Maki swore profusely - though she managed to avoid it due to her sliding maneuver – and kept going, knocking the man over and opening him up for her to spring forward suddenly, grab him, and slam him into the ground.

Intensely suspicious, Maki hopped back a few paces after she got back on her own feet, not wanting to knock the old geezer out cheaply but not wanting to lose either. Of course, he pulled something unexpected anyway…namely, disappearing as he lay on the ground and appearing right above her.

Noting his advantage, he placed his feet together and began to spiral forward madly, like a drill. "Yoga Spear!"

Maki's tonfa-holding arm deflected the blow, and in her usual quick manner, rolled forward, putting her right behind him as he landed. Unwilling to let him stretch out a fist to smash her in the face, she gripped her tonfa even tighter and smashed him in the back, a surprised and frustrated grunt escaping her lips as she did; his body felt like…rubber!

_What the HELL is with this old guy?!_ she wondered in utter confusion as she watched him slide forward a bit, only to straighten up and turn to face her without looking too bothered. _I know I hit him hard! Rubber body or not…he HAD to feel that!_

"Yoga is a powerful art," he said quietly. "I felt the curiosity in your mind a minute ago, which is why I know why you're wondering, 'How did he breathe fire? Stretch his arm? Shake off my blows?' Trust me, it's something that you can learn, but only if you're willing. I have already seen that you are not, however. That is why I will simply demonstrate my skill in order to defeat you."

"Fine," drawled Maki, a bit irritated that he was sounding like he was going to lead into another Yoga speech. "You read me like a book. But I ain't so predictable all the time, dammit. So pay attention! I'll show you what makes Bushin strong!"

He said nothing, merely nodding and stretching out his arm again as if she'd said nothing. The blur of motion wasn't totally unexpected for her, so she sidestepped it pretty easily. Then, as she'd moved forward shortly afterwards, his foot shot out, and…well, she got smacked in the stomach. Another fist smacked her in the face, forcing her back a step or two, and yet another blow – a punch or a kick – crashed into her leg, forcing her down on one knee.

When she finally managed to get her eyes open, she could clearly see that more fire was flying at her…except as a stream, not a single fireball.

Groaning, Maki tried to get to her feet, but couldn't manage it – her leg was still aching horribly. "Oh, geez… this guy just gets crazier and crazier…"

Gritting her teeth, she decided to damn whatever pain she was about to feel and pull some 'tricky ninja %^&', as her sister had dubbed it. With a yell, she kicked off the ground with both feet, soaring up and forward, clearing the flames while hurtling at her bone-thin opponent. When he was in range, she twisted her tonfa around and smacked him with its end. However, he'd shifted his head up as she'd come in, which meant that she'd had to pass through the redirected fire-stream for a bit before she got the chance to strike. It hurt like hell, but at least her clothes weren't burning off, and he was stunned enough for her to land and smash him with a barrage of punches from both hands before introducing her knee to his face.

As he staggered back, she cocked her fist back and pounded his face again, putting as much force into the swing as she could and sending him flying, even as she felt her arm bounce back a bit from the recoil against his body. The sheer power was more than enough to lift him off the ground, helping him to sail, almost lazily, out of the ring.

Exhilarated, and quite relieved, Maki groaned as she flopped down onto the ground, clutching at her burning shin. "KUSOOOOOOOOOO!" she roared. "DAMN! HURTS LIKE A…"

"Language, please," the man murmured from his position on the floor. "I am sorry that the injury I caused hurts you so much, but it's not appropriate to scream out such obscenities."

Maki rolled her eyes as she struggled to her feet and limped out of the ring. "Damn it, oyaji, no one was talking to you," she muttered to herself. "Least I won…one step closer to getting as strong as Guy."

Ibuki flashed Maki a thumbs-up as the blonde sat herself down gingerly. "Nice job. Now I see why your leader put you up to this."

"Yeah…he knows how to pick 'em." Maki admitted wryly after a moment of silence. "At any rate, can ya get me an ice pack or something from the medics? My leg's aching something fierce."

"Sure, no problem…"

Maki watched her go, and sighed to herself. Ibuki's remark about Guy hadn't touched her old, sore nerves, but she was still a bit unused to hearing his name get dropped so casually…mostly because it reminded her that she hadn't earned the position she so desperately wanted.

_One day, Guy. When I'm ready…you and I will settle things for good._

She slammed a fist into her palm and grinned ferociously. She still couldn't wait for that day.

On the match board, the rectangular cursor blinked to life, and scrolled quickly across the screen, revealing the next set of combatants.

_Match 9: The Shin Face Team vs. The Psycho Duet_

Somewhere in the arena, Wind and her teammates smiled darkly.

"…For Orochi's revival," they whispered.

* * *

Authors' Notes: Got a little busy over this last month and couldn't concentrate too well… The fights shouldn't last much longer, and some of the ones left won't be covered as extensively as these last few, so that I can get into the 'breather chapters' that will preclude the finals. Thanks for bearing with me and my slow updating, and I'll try to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible.

~Z.S.

PS: HAPPY TENTH CHAPTER. WOOT SQUARED.


	11. Rhythmic Destruction: The Shin Face Team

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

* * *

Chapter 11: Rhythmic Destruction - The Eruption of the Shin Face Team

Athena Asamiya had read about _The King of Street Fighters_ tournament in the newspaper roughly twenty-four hours after it had been announced, but she hadn't the slightest idea how they chose the contestants, and no indication was given anywhere that the process was going to be made public.

That being the case, she was content to just sit at home and watch the proceedings on television (though whether she'd take Kensou up on his offer to hang at his place to watch with him was still up for debate at the time).

Then, she and Kensou got invitations in the mail, within a day or so of one another, and after a long chat, they decided to enter. It was a bit sad that Bao and Momoko hadn't gotten invited – and that Master Chin had declined to enter - but Kensou had cheered her up about the whole thing in his usual way.

"_It's time that we showed the world what you and I are capable of as a couple… er, I mean, team! Even if the others can't come, together, you and I can be a couple…erm, of winners! Yeah, winners! That's what I was gonna say next!"_

Athena smiled to herself, a little happily and a little sadly, as she stepped up into the ring. Even after all these years, she couldn't bring herself to really decide how she felt about him. On one hand, he was pretty cute, not too bad in a fight…and had been her best friend since they'd met and trained together for the first KOF tournament.

On the other hand…he was addicted to those darn pork buns, which wouldn't be so bad in and of itself if he'd stop eating them almost every other hour. And he kept randomly slipping references to him and her being together in every other sentence...

"The poor guy just can't keep his foot out of his mouth, and that's not really all that attractive," she said to herself aloud. "But I can't really deny him based on all that…"

She briefly examined Kensou out of the corner of her eye, her mixed feelings still on her mind. He'd eschewed his old blue-and-white ensemble, choosing a green, baggy, and sleeveless jumpsuit, black-and-white fighter's slippers, and a red headband with very short tails in the back. It worked as well as his classic outfit, but it also reminded her that Kensou was somehow…different. Maybe the training that he'd taken with Master Chin to master his new powers had done it, but…one way or another, he just wasn't the same.

Suddenly, she remembered that she was supposed to be in a fight right about now, and she quickly looked up, brushing down her red skirt and quickly fixing her white seifuku top (she'd had a hell of a time trying to decide if she really wanted to wear it, but she wasn't regretting it in this hot weather).

She was surprised to see that she and the ref were the only two people in the ring, and the look on her face showed it as she turned to him.

"Sir, where exactly is the other team…? Wasn't the match supposed to have started by now?"

"Yes, Ms. Asamiya…but the Shin Face Team still has a little leeway left. They won't be officially disqualified if they show up within the next five minutes…"

Sighing, Athena shook her head. "Punctuality is so rare these days, it seems…There's nothing wrong with showing up on time when you have to. You'd think that some people would have the common courtesy to manage that much…"

The ref shrugged but said nothing, figuring that Athena was just going through some sort of monologue and not wishing to interrupt. Of course, as fate would have it, the members of the team in question came into earshot right as Athena began her complaining, and as one would expect, they weren't very pleased to hear it.

"Watch your mouth, girlie," Yashiro snapped irately. "I ain't got a problem with beatin' your face in when I get the chance if you keep acting so damn high and mighty!"

Shermie put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head gently. "Now, Yashi-kun, there's no need for all of that," she said softly. "We can't create a bloodbath so early in the day. It's unbecoming and we might get…arrested, or something. It'd be easy to resist, but you know how troublesome it'd be to clean up afterwards."

Though Yashiro's expression seemed to soften up a bit, he quickly hid it behind a nasty scowl and looked off into the distance. "Feh, whatever…fine, then. Don't send me in, I'll just paste her or something..."

Wind sighed and adjusted her black veil. "Fine then. I'll go, since you're being such a child about this…"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to get started sometime today," Athena called, her normally infinite patience finally wearing thin. "You guys were late and now you're holding everything up!"

Wind didn't even bother to look up at Athena despite the clearly angry tone in her voice. Instead, she turned towards the arena for a brief moment…then, a gust of wind kicked up and she blinked out of sight, only to reappear right behind Athena, shocking the younger girl enough to cause her to stumble back in fear.

"W-what the heck was that all about?!" she stuttered. "You…how'd you…?"

"…I won't make this place your grave, but you'll be hurting as much as I can make you," Wind replied coolly as she glided away from Athena. "Pray to your God quickly, if you have one!"

Feeling that being between the two women was the worst place to be, the ref gave his signal right before diving out of the ring. The moment he was gone, Wind's hand swept upwards, pointer and middle fingers extended.

"Right there, if you would," she whispered gently.

And a tornado sprung up right under Athena's feet, cutting her repeatedly and sending her flying straight up into the air.

On the sidelines, Kyo's fists were clenched tightly, and spurts of flame roiled up from them when he saw Wind's strange tornado-calling technique. He'd encountered something like that before, he knew it…and the person that he'd seen use it was supposed to be as dead as the rest of the Shin Face team.

"…There really _is _something strange going on here," he muttered to himself. "Looks like this is going to be another wild tournament…"

Meanwhile, Wind was demonstrating another strange technique, actually _flying_ upwards at Athena, hands drawn back and ready to strike. The young Psycho Soldier, however, wasn't as helpless as she looked, and suddenly righted herself in midair before surrounding herself in a bubble of psychic energy and smashing into Wind, completely reversing the blonde woman's ascent and causing her to crash into the ring with a loud thud and accompanying dust cloud.

Still surrounded by her bubble, Athena landed safely in the ring herself, far away from what she believed to be Wind's striking range. Her clothes had only been ruffled by Wind's tornado, but all her exposed skin had been cut and gouged to some extent, and it all burned like hell.

_That woman's dangerous…_ she thought to herself as she clutched a particularly painful cut on the upper part of her right arm._ I'd rather not have to end this dishonorably, but I may just have to use that dust as a cover to finish her off._

Resolutely, she began to advance, trying to use her psychic energy to enhance her senses before attempting any kind of movement…which became totally unnecessary when a gust of wind blasted outwards, knocking her to a knee and pushing her back to the very edge of the ring. It also enabled her to see Wind skimming above the ground as she flew directly at her, getting closer and closer into striking range with every passing second…and while Athena would have shot a Psycho Ball or done something to stop the blonde, the gust had aggravated her cuts and was making it difficult to focus, let alone move.

_OK, then…I'll just have to go for defense!_

Wind's arms shot forward sharply as she continued her flight at Athena, and the younger girl could feel the air ripple as the attack came her way. Knowing that she couldn't judge when the gusts would strike, she pushed past all the pain clouding her mind and dashed forward, a streak of pink energy trailing behind her. As she'd planned, the compressed air passed _through _her almost immediately, and she used the momentary invincibility provided by her Psycho Ghosting technique to smash her foot right into Wind's face, stopping the woman's flight instantly and forcing her to land in a somewhat awkward crouch.

Knowing she couldn't let up, Athena used another burst of energy to push herself back, then pulled her arms behind her before whipping them forward.

"PSYCHO BALL GRAND!"

An extra large ball of sparkling pink energy crashed into Wind, knocking her out of her crouch and sending her skidding along the ground. Athena's arms – especially her injured one – throbbed immediately afterwards, and she fell onto a knee, biting back an unladylike curse. She could see Kensou giving her a vigorous thumbs-up from where he stood on the other side of the ring, and she briefly considered returning it…sadly, her aching arms wouldn't allow even that, so instead she gave him a cheerful smile and a trademark wink.

_I'm fine, Kensou, _she thought, using her telepathy to will the words into his mind. _It was tough, but I won it._

Kensou nodded and returned her smile…but when it faded from his rapidly paling face, she knew something had just gone wrong.

Even if Athena hadn't seen his expression, though, the fact that Wind wasn't lying on the ground anymore and that a wave of murderous intent was washing over her were obvious clues that something very bad was about to happen.

Right as she began to concentrate Psycho Power to teleport out of range, a hand closed around the back of her neck and she was swung upwards. Wind had indeed teleported behind her, and as the wind began to stir restlessly around them the blonde woman's pupils narrowed into deadly, catlike slits.

"_Orochi no kamikaze…kono muimi na kuzu wo mattaku korose!"_ she murmured.

And in answer to her plea, a tornado roared to life around them, gouging and cutting Athena mercilessly for about ten seconds. Blood spattered Wind's clothes in small amounts as the tempest continued on, with a fleck or two streaking across her face, but she wasn't perturbed in the slightest. Once the gale finally died down, Wind inspected Athena idly; the poor girl had been cut up quite ruthlessly, even though her clothes fared a bit better – her skirt and shirt were pretty torn up but all undergarments were still hidden from view. Unfortunately, her previously flawless skin had become marred all over, especially her arms and legs – the former were even worse than they had been before Wind's final attack.

Calmly, Wind tossed Athena away with a flick of her wrist, walking towards her team with a slightly satisfied look on her face as her poor opponent landed in the dirt, bleeding away with every moment.

Kensou quickly hopped into the ring, then dashed frantically across to where Athena lay, not even stopping to give Wind a venomous look. He scooped up Athena and sprinted madly to the medical tent; once she was safe there, he strode resolutely back into the ring and stepped up, looking coldly at the Shin Face Team.

"Hey, nun-lady," he said coolly to Wind. "You mind steppin' back in here a minute? I have something I wanna discuss with you."

"Discuss it with this lug," she replied in the same tone of voice that Kensou used as she pushed Yashiro forward. "I'm done for today."

"What the hell're you doin', woman? You think being leader of the team gives you a right to just shove one of us in to sub for you?"

Wind pretended to think for a moment before giving her response. "Actually, I believe it does. So shut your mouth and do it, or I will MAKE you do it and punish you afterwards. What'll it be?"

Yashiro mumbled a curse under his breath and dragged himself into the ring unassisted. Wind smiled with a deceptive serenity, then turned her back to the ring and began talking with Chris and Shermie. The ref, knowing that the look in Kensou's eyes was saying "I'm going to kill all of these $%^#$^* pricks", gave his sign from well outside of the ring.

At that moment, Yashiro leapt forward, fist pulled back in midair, then swung forward when he was within range of Kensou; Kensou, unfazed, rolled forward, passing under Yashiro and causing the larger man to growl a curse as he landed awkwardly and off-balance. When he whirled around to smash Kensou in the head, he got a fist crammed into his stomach, then one into his face as Kensou stepped into the blow, pushing Yashiro a fair distance away.

Yashiro wasn't too badly fazed by the attack, though he honestly hadn't expected it, but what came next did give him cause to worry; Kensou's arms were thrusting forward repeatedly, shooting off several crackling balls of blue energy. Being in the middle of a turn, Yashiro got hit repeatedly, spinning him about several times over. And then…Kensou boxed him straight in the face with a straight, aura-covered punch, shooting him out of the ring like a meteor and causing him to land right in front of the Ansatsuken team, specifically Kyo and Iori. After this, Kensou pulled a pork bun from out of nowhere and ate it in a few bites, chewing it pensively, then turned to where Yashiro had fallen.

"Sorry 'bout that," Kensou called to Kyo and Iori, looking a bit sheepish. "I was a bit pissed…didn't mean to hit him so hard."

"Eh, no problem," Kyo muttered in reply. "You've got every right…"

Iori shrugged, then looked about for a brief moment before lightly kicking the unconscious Yashiro in the head a few times.

"Meh, he's out cold. Serves him right."

Kensou nodded, then looked over at Wind, his gaze still piercingly serious.

"You gonna chicken out again or are you gonna fight me?!" he roared. "You won't get away with what you've done, you understand?! Even if I have to pummel the rest of your teammates before I get to you, this day won't end without you being just as hurt as Athena!"

Wind sighed, then took off her shawl and handed it to Chris, patting him on the head a bit before stepping up and facing Kensou with obvious disinterest.

"You're such a loud brat," she sighed. "I'll have to shut you up…"

"Then try it, witch!"

The ref whimpered; the rage in Kensou's voice was enough to make a demon quake in fear. Hand shaking, he signaled the beginning of the match, then crouched down until his eyes were barely visible above the rim of the ring.

Immediately after that, Kensou fired off energy balls at the same rapid pace he had used to knock out Yashiro; Wind spun to the side with an unusual amount of grace, then transitioned into a gliding slide that sent her right towards him. Anticipating this, Kensou leapt over her, then turned about and fired off a few more shots of energy. However, a gust kicked up before they even came close to hitting, and Wind slid out of the way again, without even really changing her stance.

Growling, Kensou dashed at her, closing the distance between them as quickly as he could to avoid being nailed by one of her random tornado calls. Of course, she did it anyway, sweeping a hand up as she came to a halt from her evading slide. Kensou couldn't dodge in mid-run and took the hit straight on, but managed to flip in midair and rain down more energy balls.

Wind thrust a hand out towards them, and a blast of wind pushed them all wildly off course. Seeing this, Kensou knew for sure that Wind's powers were most definitely out of the ordinary – for a 'physical' force to affect the course of his psychic attacks, it had to have some form of energy infused into it.

_No wonder Athena was so badly cut up by those tornadoes this crazy witch was slinging…_Kensou thought to himself as he landed and watched Wind warily. _Her energy must've interfered with Athena's and stopped her healing powers…Damn, this sucks. If I get nailed, I'm screwed. My healing skills are about as developed as a newborn rat._

As if she'd read his mind, Wind swept her hands again and again, and Kensou ducked, rolled, and dodged several more tornadoes, having no chance to attack with more projectiles. When she stopped, if only for a brief moment, Kensou stomped on the ground before pushing forward with an aura-coated punch; since he'd purposely maneuvered closer to Wind with each dodge, he was close enough and fast enough to smack her in the face with the blow, sending her skidding back a few feet. He followed up with a flying kick that pushed her back more, then used a two-handed hammer smash to strike the back of her head, causing her body to splay out on the ground.

Satisfied, Kensou landed with ease, then back-flipped away from her, a grim smile on his face. He wasn't sure if she was down for the count, but he wasn't going to take any kind of chances. He wanted to avenge Athena too badly to get taken down by some cheap tricks.

Sure enough, Wind managed to pull herself up, looking pretty peeved but also slightly impressed. After dusting off her sleeves, she spread her hands out and smiled a little bit.

"You really…do care about your teammate, don't you?" she said quietly. "And the way I defeated her has obviously displeased you…You should probably let her get hurt more often, you fight better when you're angry."

"Don't you piss me off more, you crazy witch," Kensou snapped back. "Or you'll be wishing you'd just stayed in whatever damn hole you crawled out of!"

"My, my. Back to being a whiny brat so soon? Hm. So boring…"

She inspected her hand for a moment, then slid forward as she had so many times before…but her speed was so blisteringly high that Kensou couldn't track her movement at all…then, he felt her hand raking up his clothes, shredding at his skin below, and he couldn't help but yell out in agony.

"Now don't move, and prepare yourself…you may be meeting your God quickly."

She slashed him several more times, each one becoming more and more frenzied, before she grabbed him by the throat. With a bestial roar, she leapt up into the air, and for a few brief moments, she and Kensou hovered, his face contorted in pain, hers in a pleased, feral grin.

Then, they hurtled back to Earth, and Kensou could feel several bones crack once he slammed into the pavement.

"A-Athena…" he whispered. "I'm…sorry."

Then he blacked out.  


* * *

The arena had gone into an uproar when Wind had practically broken poor Kensou with her final, brutal assault. While general opinion was that it was masterfully – if brutally – executed, some people, namely the more 'refined' competitors, were in an uproar.

"What the bloody hell's wrong with that tart?" Cammy cried out as the medical team ushered Kensou over to the medical tent. "She beat the crap out of two kids for no damn reason! This is ridiculous!"

"Everything about that woman is ridiculous," remarked Iori cryptically. "She'll get hers soon enough, though. That's what the finals are for, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"I'm going to check on that boy and his teammate," Chun-Li announced. "Anyone coming?"

The rest of the Justice Team and Cherry Blossom Brigade raised their hands, and the massive exodus left for the tent almost immediately.

Ken scratched his head and looked up at the blank match board, wondering if the fights were going to stop over this whole thing. Ryu, meanwhile, had turned to Kyo and Iori, an unusually pensive look on his face.

"You two…you have yet to explain to us what exactly is with the Shin Face Team. You said earlier that they were supposed to be dead, didn't you?"

"Yeah, they are," Kyo admitted after a moment of silence. "…Look, I don't want to explain this right now, all right? After these prelims are over, I'll get into it."

"I'm holding you to that," replied Ryu simply; Kyo nodded absently and turned his attention back to the ring. A small blonde kid, maybe no more than eight or nine, in blue jean shorts, an orange T-shirt, and black gloves was facing down a teenager in an outfit similar to Kensou's, except that the top was white, the bottoms dark blue, and he wore yellow elbow-length gloves and a blue-and-yellow baseball cap, with a short braid flapping loosely from the back of his head.

"All right, kiddo, get ready. Yun Lee's here and ready to rock!"

The kid looked nervously over at Terry, who was standing outside of the ring, only to smile when Terry grinned and gave him a vigorous thumbs-up. Turning back to Yun, the kid pulled on his gloves tighter and began bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Don't slow down, guy!" he called out. "I'm a little new to stuff like this…but I'm ready!"

The two dashed at each other eagerly, and fist met fist as they launched a salvo of blows at one another…and while almost everyone else was eagerly watching them fight, eager for a bit of 'clean' sport to displace the violence of the matches before, everyone in and around the medical tent was more concerned about the welfare of Athena and Kensou; they'd been bandaged up tightly, and were resting on a pair of cots. Chun-Li was obviously very disturbed by the whole thing, and looked down sadly on the kids with a hint of fiery rage in her eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with that woman….? How could she be so…cruel? This is a tournament, not a slaughterhouse…She could have killed them!"

One of the medics sighed and shook her head. "I suppose this is what waivers are for," she replied. "Or at least, what they're SUPPOSED to be for…Really, I think things would have been much worse if these two didn't have…the powers they do. We can't tell much, but their bodies seem to be all the more resilient for it, and they're recovering well. The most we did was bandage them up, as you can see…"

"Well, I'm thinking it's high time I had a few words with that Wind woman," Chun-Li said aloud, looking around for any sign of the Shin Face Team's ostensible leader. "Anyone seen her?"

"She and her team pretty much vanished after the match, even the unconscious one that Iori was kicking in the head," Sakura replied. "It was really weird, but everything about that woman's weird anyway, right?"

"Everything about that woman will be black and blue when I'm done with her…I'll never forgive this!"

Shingo turned to Blue Mary and asked quietly, "Hey, why's she so fired up about this? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm cool with Athena and Kensou, but…she doesn't really know them, does she?"

"She takes care of children, Shingo. She can't help but be a bit motherly, at the best or worst of times. This kind of thing…hits real close for her, I would imagine."

After a moment of silent contemplation, Shingo nodded, then turned away from the grim scene in front of him and looked to the Jumbotron, and at the continuing match between Yun and the blonde kid. To everyone's surprise, they were actually pretty evenly matched; Yun was kept at a distance by the child's 'Reppuken' projectiles, but his longer reach enabled him to punish the smaller fighter in close-range combat, when it came to that.

They were now standing on opposite sides of the ring, watching each other very cautiously; streaks of dirt and sweat were all over their clothes and bodies, and both were a bit less bouncy than they'd been when they started out.

"You're good, short stuff," Yun called. "But…I'm not so easy to bring down…! I'll settle this with one more shot, OK? Then after that, I'll get you some ice cream or something."

"…I don't like ice cream all that much," the child responded. "Guess that means I gotta win, huh?"

Yun laughed to himself, then hopped into the air, flying down with a foot extended at the peak of his jump. His young opponent was initially unnerved, but a light seemed to come into his red-iris eyes as Yun descended on him like an eager hawk, and he raised his glowing hands high.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGING…"

Yun's eyes widened. _What is this kid…?_

"_**STORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRM!"**_

A wave of powerful energy blitzed upwards, from the very spot where the kid touched his hands to the ground, and knocked poor Yun right out of the sky. After it subsided, the kid stood up and shook his hands off, wincing a little bit.

"Yo, Rock!" Terry called into the ring. "Are you OK?!"

"I'm fine…my hands are just a little stingy, y'know?"

"Well, come on out, I'll handle the next guy."

Rock nodded and hopped out. "I'm gonna go find Auntie Mary. Have you seen her?"

Terry jerked a thumb in the direction of the medical tent (he'd seen Mary follow Chun-Li over there earlier) and stepped into the ring to face down Yun's teammate, who was dressed in a salmon top, dark pants, and slippers like Yun, but with an unruly mop of hair covering up his eyes.

"My name Yang's Lee…Pardon my brother's antics. He's a good guy, but he's a bit smug…"

"Heh, he's got a right…gave Rock a run for his money, didn't he? Well, come on, kiddo, let's see your best!"

Yang flipped his hair up, nodded, and entered his stance. Meanwhile Rock was toddling off towards the medical tent; Mary had seen him coming, and turned around to scoop him up.

"How'd your match go, hon? You win?"

"Yep!" Rock replied eagerly. "Knocked 'im right outta the air, too!"

"All right, that's my Rock! Good job, kid…" She ruffled his hair playfully and hugged him into her chest; he blushed suddenly when 'faced' with her assets, and the blush on his cheeks just wouldn't die. Nearby, Shingo and Sean watched him with envy and a bit of sadness.

"That damn kid's so lucky…" the yellow-clad Ansatsuken wannabe said to his teammate. "Then again, Mary's more like my mom's age, so it might be better if I stay outta this…"

Unfortunately, her life as a fighter had ensured that Mary's senses had grown keen enough to pick up on any incoming danger; that meant that she heard Sean's comment with ease, and was…less than pleased. "What was that, Sean?" she called with a feigned sweetness. "I'm like _WHOSE _age?"

"You'd better run, guy," Rock said from Mary's bosom. "Auntie Mary's gonna beat you up now."

"That's right, Rock honey…you may wanna close your eyes…cause Aunty Mary's gonna go dynamite!"

Sean's brown face paled, and Shingo ducked out of the way as Mary tackled the hapless Brazilian away from the medical tent and locked him up in a submission hold. Ironically enough, as poor Sean roared out in pain, Terry, charging forward with one glowing fist, socked Yang in the jaw before gripping his wrist and surging a wave of energy out of it, sending the Lee brother out of the ring in a blaze of glory.

Once Yang had landed outside of the ring, Terry took his cap by the brim and tossed it into the air, then snatched it when it came back into his reach, yanked it onto his head, and thrust his fist up.

"AWRIGHT!"

The crowd cheered wildly, and Terry broke out into a grin. Damn, it was good to win…

"AWGH! MAAAAAAAAAAARYYYYYYYYYY! THAT HURTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

"CALL ME OLD AGAIN, YOU BRAT! I DARE YOU! COME ON!!!"

…but it was a pain in the ass to keep your girlfriend from killing kids that were stupid enough to crack on her age.

Sighing, Terry hopped down and rushed over to the medical tent to stop things before they got out of hand…and on the match board, the blinking bar did its work again, revealing the next match-up.

_Match 11: Team Muay Thai vs. Team Korea_

* * *

Yo. Hope you guys had a good Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whichever holiday…Sorry this took so long. I was putting it off, sort of, and also got kind of blocked up. Like I said earlier, fights won't last much longer, and Match 12 looks to be the last one (gives me a nice stable cast to work with for the finals, too. Psycho Soldier fans, don't burn me for this, please…I swear I'll quite possibly make up for it later.

Anyways. Have a happy New Year's Day. I'll be updating again soon, hopefully. AWRIGHT? AWRIGHT.

Also note that not every move these guys use happens to be canonical. Just warning you...


	12. Prelim’s End: Goodbye Southtown BRAWLS

The King of Street Fighters

A SF/KoF fanfiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 12: Prelim's End: Goodbye Southtown BRAWLS

A/N: Make sure you read today's Author's Notes. Important retcon information is contained within.

* * *

Brush-haired Joe Higashi bounced into the ring the moment his team's name came up on the boards. Hell, he'd been waiting his turn forever, and now he had it! A chance to dazzle the crowd, wail on some losers, and prove that he was the most BADASS guy on his team (next to Master Sagat, of course).

His first opponent? The short, fedora-wearing butcher turned thief, Choi Bounge. As the diminutive man pulled on a pair of sharp-looking claws, Joe snorted indignantly. That little wimp was still using weapons after being trained by the likes of Kim Kaphwan? Ridiculous!

"Don't think you're gonna win, short old man, wuss-weapons or not!" he cried arrogantly. "I'm Joe Higashi after all! I'm un-de-freakin'-beatable!"

"We'll see about that, buddy boy," Choi retorted grouchily. "I may not be doing this of my own free will, but I'd rather drown than lose to a cocksure punk like you!"

The ref gave his signal and moved gracefully out of the ring, knowing that things were going to end quickly for one of these fellows. As soon as the way was clear, Joe shot off two fierce uppercuts, spawning a pair of fast-moving tornadoes that swirled poor Choi around, then followed up with a rising knee attack that sent him soaring towards the edge of the ring. However, Choi's 're-education' had been taking a positive toll on him, as he recovered easily in midair, caught himself near the 'edge of despair', and landed on his feet in a crouch.

After glaring at the advancing Joe for a minute, he hopped forward with startling speed and kicked Joe square in the jaw, then cut at him wildly with his claws. Luckily for Joe, Sagat had been beating on him far too often for a kick to stun him for long, and he quickly hopped out of Choi's short range before he could get hurt, only to slide back into it with several rapid-fire punches. Poor Choi was still vulnerable in mid-air, and took a ridiculous beating before getting a powerful left to the stomach that shot him straight out of the ring.

Joe grinned ferociously. He'd done it! No close calls, no embarrassing defeat, nothing! He'd said that he would win, and he did! Overwhelmed for a moment, he dropped to his knees, his head bowed…then he thrust both fists up and roared his excitement to the heavens.

"YOSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The crowd responded with an enthusiastic cheer that matched his own, and over with Team Ansatsuken, Ken nodded, fairly impressed.

"So he wasn't just some uncouth loudmouth…then again, Sagat's a tough kind of guy. He could've brought him up to this standard if they've been training together."

"Joe always had it in him, I guess," Kyo replied. "It's just that he's kind of a goof…he used to moon people after beating them, and made stupid faces at them…things like that."

Ryu groaned inwardly as Dan suddenly came to his mind, rolling and YAHOO-ing the day away. How the man ever managed to qualify for tournaments was a mystery that even Columbo couldn't solve…

Back in the ring, Joe's next opponent had stepped up, and was he an opponent. Large and tall, with a full black mustache, small eyes, and a huge iron ball that looked like it was made for crushing…

"Well, well, if it ain't Chang Koehan," Joe drawled. "Think you can catch me with that huge-ass paperweight you lug around? I'll just save you the trouble and say this – you can't and you won't. Come on, make the first move, I'll Screw Upper you right out of it and knock you out to boot!"

Chang muttered something to himself and looked over to the sidelines at his mentor/handler Kim Kaphwan, as if he was asking 'Can I please, please, please crush him?' Of course, being the follower of justice that he was, Kim shook his head, and Chang sighed before unwrapping the chain that his ball was attached to from his large, gi-clad frame.

The ref gave the signal, and Chang moved in, swinging around the iron ball like a toy before tossing it at Joe's head. Joe ducked it and shot a Hurricane Upper at the chain; the tornado ruffled it but didn't break it. With a moan, Joe dashed forward and tried his rapid-hitting TNT Punch again, but his fists wound up bouncing off of Chang's stomach and he had to take a few steps back.

_OK, plan B. KNEE TO THE HEAD, BABY!_

With a roar of "TIGAH KICK!" Joe sprung forward and smashed Chang in the face with his knee, then landed and tripped him with a standing sweep. Chang groaned as the ground rushed up to meet his face, though the groan was cut off when Joe's foot smashed into his face, flipping him head over foot and causing him to land on his back like a sack of bricks.

Joe watched him carefully for a while, unsure if the giant man would get back up. For a brief moment, it actually looked as if he was going to, given that his fingers were scraping the ground repeatedly. However, in the end, he groaned out two sentences, in a deep, gravelly, and pained voice:

"I…can't feel my face. I give up."

Kim sighed but said nothing, simply stepping up to pull Chang out of the ring (no mean feat, but one he'd gotten used to over the years) before turning to face Joe.

"Your cockiness is a bit…unlikable," the brown-haired Korean admitted to Joe after a few moments of silence between them. "I'm afraid I'll have to take a corrective measure."

"Are you trying to say you're gonna beat me?" Joe questioned incredulously. "HA! As IF! I'm the man, man, and there is nothing you can do that's gonna change that!"

Sagat and King groaned to themselves. While his handy victories against Choi and Chang had been a sign of his growth (growth stimulated through painful ass-kicking, but growth nonetheless), his pride was, once again, muddling everything up. And that gleam in Kim's eyes should have been ample warning that the Taekwondo justice fighter was about to lay a smackdown that wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.

The ref gave his signal, and Joe grinned fiercely as he shot off several Hurricane Uppers in a row; with quick, adept footwork, Kim evaded all of them, then hopped into the air and kicked down several times, as if he were pedaling a bike. Joe took the hits, mostly because he'd been caught in the middle of recovering from his last Hurricane Upper, and they were strong enough to stun him while Kim landed and briefly took a stance, eyes closed, before rushing forward with a two-word battlecry on his lips.

"HO'OU KYAKU!"

Joe blinked through his daze. _Did he just say…Ho'ou Kyaku…? OH, SH-_

Kim's knee slammed into Joe's gut at that moment, and the world blurred for the poor Muay Thai fighter as Kim went into a dazzlingly fast combo of high, middle, and low kicks, repeating only one phrase as he continued to beat on Joe.

"ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!"

Ryu and Ken hissed sharply as Joe's head snapped up, down, and all around; it was almost like watching Vanessa get pummeled by Chun-Li again. Ironically enough, Chun-Li was thinking the same thing over at the medical tent, with the added admission that she'd never, ever, cross Kim in any way, large or small, if it'd help her avoid a beating like Joe's.

Finally, Kim ended his assault with a flip kick that sent Joe straight up in the air, and followed it with a powerful side kick that shot him out of the ring, right over the heads of the brush-headed man's ashamed teammates. Afterwards, Kim bowed gracefully to the audience, who applauded him as loudly as they had Joe at the end of his first match.

"Those traitors," croaked Joe miserably from the ground. "They should be showering their praise on me! Me! Why…?"

Ignoring her teammate, King turned to Sagat and humbly murmured, "I'll go in for him, if that's all right with you."

Sagat nodded, his face more unreadable than stony, and King immediately got in, hands on her hips as she studied Kim intently.

"I'd hoped you wouldn't get too upset with Joe, but that might've been a bit much to expect," she said after a while. "Let's just focus on having a good match, hm?"

Kim cracked his knuckles and smiled eagerly. "Yes, let's."

As the ref's signal came, King's hands rose up to defend her upper body, and the tip of her foot bounced lightly against the ground. Kim had already begun moving towards her, but she preferred the 'hit him when he's open and go from there' approach, and her patience showed it.

Without warning, Kim howled out a battlecry before going into a quick forward somersault, intent on bringing his foot down onto King's head. King stepped to the side briefly, letting Kim's foot bust the concrete where she'd been standing, then countered with a somersault of her own, except that this one was in reverse and she barely moved from her new position. In contrast to Kim's attempt, though, King caught her opponent squarely on the jaw, then assaulted him with a few quick kicks upon landing, the last being a strong one that knocked Kim to the floor.

Kim caught himself near the ground, though, and slid back a bit on all fours. After shaking his head vigorously for a moment, he got back to his feet and rubbed his sore jaw before lashing out with several kicks; King matched his footwork with her own, and the THWAKs of their shins colliding resounded through the arena several times before King reached out and slugged Kim in the face with a straight that Balrog would've been envious of.

_Your legs are never your only weapon! Fists, elbows, knees…all are the tools of the one who seeks to master themselves! Do not stoop to using a weakling's tricks, but do not fear knowledge beyond what you know either. That is how you grow! That is where the invincibility that man can grasp at lies!_

King would have scoffed at Sagat's words if he hadn't been the greatest Muay Thai fighter alive, but now she wasn't regretting the fact that he'd imparted them to her; if he hadn't, she wouldn't have developed her punching power in the month or so that she and Joe had trained with Sagat out in the wilderness…

The sting of her own blow reminded King that she was in the middle of a fight, and she quickly pulled her mind away from thoughts of her training and back towards knocking out Kim before he could get himself together again. Hopping forward a bit, King sunk an elbow into Kim's cheek, then a knee into his stomach, and finally a foot into his shoulder before grabbing him and tossing him over her own shoulder, hoping that the impact against the ground would knock him out cold.

It didn't.

In fact, that damn Kaphwan didn't even seem all that fazed by her attacks, though it did take him some time to get up. He lurched a little bit afterwards, though, which immediately let King know that she'd been wrong in assuming that he came out in one piece.

"Not going down…that easy…" he groaned. "You wanna…try a bit harder, maybe?"

"You don't want harder, trust me," King replied. "Otherwise…you might be going down to that medical tent. Not because I want to send you there, mind…"

"I see…I'm guessing you've polished up that Illusion Dance of yours, huh? Well then…if you can, hit me with it! I'll just…counter it, when you're open."

King briefly considered taking his bait, just to toy with him, but she realized that Sagat would have disapproved, and she wasn't about to risk her 'apprenticeship' with him just to show off. Instead, she shook her head, almost apologetically, bent down, then leapt up, knee outstretched. Kim did his best to move, but he reeled a bit when he did, and he was struck in the chest solidly, traveling upwards with King; when her other leg snapped out sharply, her foot collided with his chin, knocking him away and out of the ring. He landed with a dull, but not sickening, thud on the ground, grinning happily as if he'd eaten the most delicious pie in the world instead of getting knocked the hell out.

Satisfied with his 'disciple', Sagat nodded, a smile barely breaking his rugged face as King stepped down from the ring.

"See, Joe?" he said to the brush-headed man, who was still lying face-down in the dirt. "That is how a Muay Thai disciple carries his or herself in a battle. With pride and purpose, not clownish antics."

Joe's muffled reply sounded vaguely like an apologetic "Gotcha, boss", but the dirt made it difficult to tell. Sagat himself looked up to the match board after the response came, waiting eagerly to see what the next matchup would be.

At that moment, a short announcement came over the speakers, reverberating clearly throughout the stadium:

"_Brave fighters, you have endured the eleven rounds so far with grace, courage and power. Now, only one remains. The twelfth and final preliminary matchup will be announced shortly."_

All eyes turned to the matchboard now, eagerly awaiting the next battle. The rectangle blinked for a long time on the board, then slowly and dramatically moved across to reveal its final words:

_Final Match: The Rindoukan Dojo vs. The Huge Wrestlers_

"Rindoukan?" Ryu said aloud. "That sounds familiar…"

Puzzled, he scratched his head, trying to make sense of the memory nagging at his skull…then, he saw the competitors stepping into the ring, and everything clicked.

For the Rindoukan side, a young woman with short-cut black hair in a billowing white gi and a red undershirt had stepped up into the arena, black belt cinched at her waist and a yellow scarf tied around her neck, blowing nobly in the wind.

Ryu recalled the battle he'd had with that girl and noted that it had been a difficult, but pleasant, struggle. Her moves were simple and precise, but the power in them could have shattered rocks…and her fighting spirit was, in and of itself, practically immeasurable.

That summed up Izuchi Makoto…'heiress' of the Rindoukan dojo.

Even now, her eyes were unclouded and unafraid as she gazed upon her giant opponent, a man with messy black hair, a chain belt, dark tank top and pants, and large, made-for-stomping boots.

"Come on!" she roared passionately. "This is the fist meant to cleave mountains! You will not stand in its wake!"

"Remember, Hugo, try not to crush her," a pink-haired woman in Daisy Dukes and a torn-sleeved T-shirt called from the ring. "This is a real match and all that other mess."

Hugo nodded once, then pulled his hands up and began to wobble unsteadily, almost as if he was drunk. The ref gave his sign, and immediately, Hugo lumbered at Makoto with all the grace of an elephant. Without pause, Makoto drew one fist back to her head and extended her other hand towards Hugo, the wind seeming to magically pick up as she waited patiently for him to come into striking range…

And the moment he did, she shot forward like a rocket, her fist digging deep into his stomach before he could register what had happened. He didn't move back very far, if at all, but it seemed as if Makoto was expecting that, and continued with a snappy side kick that did put a fair bit of distance between them.

Once he'd stopped sliding, Hugo groaned and muttered something to himself about how his stomach was hurting. On the sidelines, the pink-haired woman scowled, noting that the only time Hugo had been so staggered before was when that Ryu guy had nailed him with some Shin Shoryu-whatever. She didn't like where this was going, but she didn't want to call out to Hugo and wreck whatever concentration he had going on, so she kept her mouth shut.

Seeing how Hugo was still open, Makoto kicked off the ground, then used a wicked axe kick to strike Hugo's head once she was level with it; his upper body bent over like a branch in a gale, and the pink-haired woman bit back an audible curse as Hugo sagged to his knees with a very, very loud grunt. Seeing her chance, Makoto retreated briefly with two small steps, then shot off a powerful straight that crunched into Hugo's face, and another, and ANOTHER.

The result? Hugo dropped like a rock, shaking the ground when he flopped onto his back. Makoto inhaled and exhaled deeply, drawing her arms to her side, then bowed curtly to Hugo's prone form and returned to her team's side of the ring, nodding to a black haired fellow wearing a gi like hers as she sat on her knees and turned away from the ring. Immediately, he stepped up and assumed a solid stance, waiting for Hugo to be dragged out of the ring by the medical staff.

While everyone waited, Ryu nodded to himself in what appeared to be satisfaction while the rest of his teammates (Iori included) were staring in utter shock.

"Did that girl…just floor a guy the size of Chang with HALF the effort Joe took?" Kyo mumbled in disbelief, shock plain as day on his face. "Damn! What the hell is this Rindoukan stuff?!"

"She said it herself," replied Ryu. "It's a style that cleaves mountains, though she didn't mean it so literally…I got hit with that sliding straight punch of hers once, and I could've sworn that I was going to black out. The rest of that match, I was effectively fighting with a handicap because my stomach wouldn't quit aching."

"Did you still manage to win?" asked Iori with a hint of curiosity.

"Yeah, but…it was close."

At this point, Hugo had finally been carted towards the medical tent, and a large, muscled, scarred man with a brown Mohawk and beard was facing Makoto's teammate. His only attire was a red Speedo-like garment (which was thankfully nowhere near as tight as one) and red boots with gold trim.

"I am---! The dynamite-body wrestler, Zangief!" he roared. "Who are you, little man? I must know who challenges me!"

"Nagato," the younger, smaller man replied. "Are you ready to begin?"

Zangief grinned and made mock-grabbing motions with his hands, just before the ref gave his signal. As soon as that happened, Zangief rushed forward with speed that didn't match his frame, and clutched Nagato in a bear hug before leaping into the air with him, spinning around like a top for the moments they stayed aloft before crunching him into the ground; everyone hissed as the massive man-mountain opened up his hands and sprung back, leaving the Rindoukan practitioner to crumple to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Strangely, Makoto didn't even look fazed by the whole thing, even though she'd turned around to watch once the match begun, and made no move to get up and relieve Nagato.

"Another falls to Zangief's might," the Russian proclaimed proudly. "What else could have happened?"

"I could have avoided your grab and used a Seichusen-Godanzuki to bodily eject you from the arena," replied Nagato from the ground, his voice devoid of frustration. "But that would have only happened if I could have anticipated you, and your speed made that impossible."

Slowly, he peeled himself off of the pavement, gently moving his muscles to ensure that he hadn't been too badly hurt by the strange slam. He did feel pretty sore and a little out of sorts, but not enough to impede his fighting ability.

"My Spinning Piledriver…it cannot have been ineffective! Surely you feel even a little bit…!"

Nagato grimaced as a slight wave of nausea washed over him. "I do. But…Izuchi-senpai's training has subjected me to slightly more painful experiences. Prepare yourself. I'm ending this match now."

He dashed forward, a blur to everyone, and snapped his fist out at Zangief. The scarred wrestler, however, had gained a newfound respect for (and caution of) his opponent, and used a large hand to smack the strike away before wrapping Nagato's arm in its grip and lifting the smaller fighter into the air; in response, Nagato lashed out with a foot and caught Zangief in the side of the head, forcing him to let go. Right as Nagato hit the ground, he shoved his fist into Zangief's chest, but had to bite back a curse as his hand began throbbing the moment it made contact. The pain kept him from evading the punch Zangief slammed into the back of his head, and he staggered long enough for the brawny Russian to sweep his legs, knocking Nagato back to the ground for the second time in many minutes.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it, as Zangief took the opportunity to spring into the air again, spreading his arms and legs wide as he fell forward…towards Nagato. For a few terrifying moments, it looked as if Nagato was going to be crushed painfully underneath Zangief's bulk, but with an incredible amount of willpower, he rolled to the side just enough to let the scarred man smash into the ring without a human cushion. Then, with deliberate slowness, he rose up from the floor, sighing a bit as he realized just how sore he was feeling, and looked over at his opponent.

Zangief hadn't hurt himself badly, but it was pretty obvious that he wasn't trying to get up, and it didn't look like he was going to any time soon. Nagato had to admit that while he was happy that he hadn't lost, he didn't want to win like this.

"Nagato," Makoto called to him.

He turned, expecting to see disappointment in her face at his fluke, but he was pleasantly surprised by the smile and nod she gave him.

_There's always a next time, _she mouthed. _Don't get down on yourself or your fist will falter._

Understanding, he nodded and left the ring, feeling a little bit proud of himself. As he did, the display board burst into a flood of color, and a single phrase appeared:

_CONGRATULATION. ALL MATCH COMPLETE._

Ken (and several others) couldn't help but burst out into raucous laughter at the horrible Engrish; Ken in particular was practically rolling on the floor. Naturally, the more sober fighters blew the whole thing off, but a few could be seen cracking a hidden smile. As if the tournament committee was completely unaware of the glaring error, it stayed up for quite some time before another announcement was heard.

"_The twelve chosen teams are to report to the ring immediately. Repeat, the twelve chosen teams are to report to the ring immediately."_

Ryu, after grabbing Ken by the gi and lifting him to his feet, nodded at Kyo and Iori, and all four members of Team Ansatsuken entered, standing proudly as the first team down. They were soon joined by the other teams, slowly but surely, with Ash Crimson entering last – and alone.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, these are your twelve finalist teams! In a week's time, they'll be battling it out in Chiryu City, Japan, for the honor of becoming the King of Street Fighters! We'll give each of them a short introduction just so you know the all-star cast that you'll be watching!"_

The ref hopped into the ring and stood next to Ryu, mike in hand. "First off! We've got TEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM ANSATSUKEN! Ryu Hoshi, Ken Masters, Kyo Kusanagi, and Iori Yagami! GIVE IT UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!"

Ryu and Ken raised their fists in the air, while Kyo and Iori jammed their hands into their pockets and looked off disinterestedly.

After the roar of applause, the ref slid over to the Justice Team and spun the mike around a bit in a bit of showmanship. "The lovely Justice Team is here to dazzle, and DAMN, did they dazzle! Chun-Li Xiang, 'Blue' Mary Ryan, and Cammy White!"

All three women struck a rehearsed pose that looked cute AND sexy at the same time, and half the crowd fainted (naturally the male half…and maybe a few of the females, but that's neither here nor there). Iori in particular seemed to cast some sort of gaze onto Cammy, but said nothing particularly interesting.

"Of course, there's the Cherry Blossom Brigade, striking with the power of youth and spring itself! Sakura Kasugano, Shingo Yabuki, Sean Matsuda, and Hinata Wakaba!"

The team flashed a group 'V for Victory' sign and grinned infectiously.

"Of course, we can't forget those funky warriors that use dance to the max, the Beat Crusaders! Elena Otowe and Dee Jay are in the building, ya'll!"

Long-legged, white-haired Elena did a quick handstand and saluted the crowd with a cheerful "Jambo!"; Dee Jay settled for his trademark broad grin.

"We've also got those deadly serious and highly dangerous Ikari Warriors here today! Don't you mess with them or you'll be feeling it! Leona Heidern, Ralf Jones, Clark Steel, and little miss Whip, you guys are rockin'!"

Ralf and Clark flexed their muscles, while Leona shrugged stolidly and Whip shot the announcer a death glare for prefixing 'little' and 'miss' to her name in one sentence.

"And the one team with fire, ice, and tech blending together into a kickass symphony of awesome, Teaaaaaaam K'! Maxima, Kula Diamond, and of course, the eponymous K' himself! Show some love!"

Chestnut-haired Kula, wearing a purple top and jeans shorts, briefly activated her ice powers, turning her hair a shade of light blue, and juggled a few snowballs around before smiling cutely at the audience. Giant Maxima merely nodded his head and crossed his arms, his light-colored full body suit a bit blinding even in the slightly faded daylight, and K, wearing a dark, full-leather outfit, just sighed and readjusted his sunglasses.

"Of course, who could forget the skilled and powerful Shinobi Alliance!, Maki Genryusai, Andy Bogard, Mai Shiranui, and Ibuki are masters of their art, so you'd better not cross 'em or you'll have a kunai at your throat!"

Maki cocked her head arrogantly, but said nothing; Ibuki didn't bother to strike a pose, and Mai was too busy leaning lovingly on Andy to do so.

"Nothing like the bond between a father and his adopted son, eh? No wonder the Wolf and Cub team made it so far! Give Terry Bogard and Rock Howard a little appreciation, huh?"

Terry began pumping his fist wildly, and the crowd roared louder than they had for anyone else; the man's victory had been pretty damn stylish, after all.

Having worked the first row of teams, the ref now jumped to the back, still full of pep and cheer. "And the might of Thailand's premier martial art will undoubtedly be well represented by Joe Higashi, Mademoiselle King, and THE! LEGENDARY! SAAAAGAAAAAAAAAAT!"

Sagat crossed his arms and smirked, while Joe flexed a muscle…only to wince when he wound up pulling something. He began to rub his arm with a grimace on his face, and King sighed in disgust.

"The victors of preliminary match twelve may not be well known to you all, but as you saw they possess power and wit in equal measure! Give it up for Makoto Izuchi and Nagato of the Rindoukan Dojo, everybody!"

Nagato and Makoto bowed, and said nothing.

As he approached the last team, the ref's spirit faltered, but only a little. "And last but not least…we've got the Shin Face Team, featuring Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie, Chris, and the enigmatic Wind!"

Chris and Wind smiled serenely, with Wind patting the young child on the head, while Shermie blew a kiss to Yashiro; the taller man tried not to look too enamored but he was doing a crap job of hiding it.

"Of course, we can't forget the only single entry participant that qualified for the tournament, Mr. Ash Crimson!"

Ash smirked obnoxiously, and Kyo and Iori both looked like they wanted to vomit.

"They'll get to enjoy themselves in Chiryu City for a few days before the tournament starts, so if you're in the area you might just luck out and get an autograph! Teams, your flights leave on Friday and the tournament proper will start next Sunday evening – Saturday evening for us over here in the US of A, so get ready and get set to rumble!"

"_At this time, the preliminary rounds are concluded. We'll be emptying the arena for cleanup now. Thank you all for attending the King of Street Fighters preliminary bouts. We hope to see you in Chiryu City for the finals."_

The teams dispersed from the ring, and Ryu smiled somewhat grimly as he turned his head to look at the eleven other teams he and his friends would be going up against.

"It's gonna get wild," he whispered to himself. "And I can't wait."

Then the Justice Team and the Cherry Blossom Brigade broke away from the other teams and towards Ryu and co., crying out one word in perfect sync.

"PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

The Ansatsuken Team collectively blinked.

"Dammit," Iori growled. "What else would they want to do after all that…? I'm never gonna get women or brats."

"Hell, I'm with them!" Ken replied suddenly, his face split by a smile. "We deserve it any damn way, we made it into the real fights!"

"I'm with Ken," Kyo said simply.

Iori muttered something under his breath, and Ryu shrugged sheepishly with a stupid-looking smile on his face.

_A party would be nice right about now…_

Together, the three teams left the stadium, unaware that they were being watched by two sets of interested eyes…

* * *

Author's Notes: Regarding my retcon - I realized that I wrote that there were supposed to be sixteen matches earlier in the story, which I did before I became sane and went to twelve instead. In chapter 7, where said statement of 16 matches was written, that has been fixed. In other words, no plotholes NYEEEEEEEEEEH! :P

Anyway, here we are in the great year '09. What awaits us is unknown, but in time we shall discover it! Or something.

This chapter, I gotta thank Carrotshake for inspiring the whole Kim/Joe thing in his own way…I was about to throw a Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) reference in there but then that might've been a bit much.

These next chapters might be a little action-devoid, or might not be. Mostly it's about building the bonds that will make the story stronger, which means lots and lots of hanging out between teams.

Of course, that's after the massive party, which'll be interesting in its own way. ;)

Later!

EDIT (8/30/2009): Due to some minor mishaps with counting, the actual timeline the MC gave out just above has been altered to be slightly more sensible. It should be right this time.


	13. Breather Episode: Celebration Party

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 13: Celebration Party

* * *

After leaving the arena, the Justice Team, Ansatsuken Team, and Cherry Blossom Brigade had a long and somewhat heated discussion about how exactly they were going to celebrate. Eventually, everyone agreed that they'd go out for a bite, then head back to the Marriott and have a crapload of fun up in Ryu and Ken's room.

The café where the three teams had chosen to eat was called the Cool Jam Spot, a mellow, large setup that had a live band (the Eight Maiden's Musicians) that specialized in playing all sorts of interesting jazz pieces.

The band's members were also huge fans of Iori Yagami, and had devoted themselves to learning all the leitmotifs attributed to him during the King of Fighters tournaments. This is why they practically fainted when they saw him and the others walk in the door, only to recover themselves by the time the party of eleven had gotten seated.

Of course, the first course of action they decided to take was an all-night jam session devoted specifically to him, and as the teams finished ordering, the lead singer took the mike, fighting to keep his voice level.

"In honor of our most favorite, most AWESOME fighter ever, we're gonna play the 'Saxophone Storm Set' for all of you tonight. It consists of our versions of songs you may have heard in previous King of Fighters tournaments. We'll start it off with 'Stormy Saxophone 1: The Emergence'. Please, enjoy.

The drummer spun his sticks about a few times and began beating out a solid bass and drum line for a few seconds. Then the keyboarder and bass guitarist took over, playing low, sweet notes for a good while until the 'sax man' took up his horn and began to play the smoothest melody that anyone on Team Ansatsuken had heard…except for Kyo and Iori.

"I can't believe they went so far as to learn that song," the redheaded Yagami grumbled to himself as he tore into a piece of bread. "It's been years since I've heard it, I hated it then, and I hate it now. Just doesn't feel like me…"

"What're you talking about?" Cammy shot back after swallowing a fair mouthful of apple cider. "This song's bloody awesome!"

Kyo and the rest of the KoF fighters shrugged noncommittally at that, while Ken's face soured a bit; he found himself agreeing with Iori, which was surprising in and of itself.

"Mop-top's got a point…I mean, the song ain't trashy, but it doesn't really capture that whole rough-and-tumble thing he's got going. Now, what you ought to do is get this band called the Cap Sound Team to remix this…they've been covering the World Warrior Tournaments and they come up with the most amazing stuff."

"…I have my own band…"

"Then why haven't you guys covered this?"

"We're a rock band. Jazz isn't our style. And we haven't met up since…'96_._"

…_Or more accurately, since I wound up killing Mature and Vice, _he thought to himself bitterly. _They never knew, but…I was too different afterwards. Well, more different than I had been before my first Riot outbreak._

He managed to keep his expression neutral, though. No one knew what the hell he'd done, and no one was going to know if he could help it. No one.

Of course, it helped that everyone else had found a way to occupy themselves and quit paying him any mind. Sean and Shingo were sharing stories of how they'd learned to fight, while Cammy was nodding happily to the music. Kyo had a small fire lit above his index finger, studying it intently. Hinata and Mary were riffling through their menus, as they had yet to decide what they wanted to eat, and Sakura, Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li were all talking about some fights they'd had in the stretches of time that they hadn't seen one another.

And the server wasn't due back for a while, so…Iori just retreated back into his own thoughts, trying to ignore the guilt gnawing at him.

Meanwhile, at a table nearby, Leona, Ralf, Clark, and Whip were very casually observing the gathered group. Naturally, they were obscuring their identities – Ralf had traded his bandanna for a cap, while Clark had removed his sunglasses AND hat (they would've given him away); Leona had let her hair down and put in a pair of contacts that changed her eyes to a rusty brown, and Whip had pulled on a wig.

"Remind me why we're wearing these stupid disguises, please," Ralf hissed in irritation. "It's not like those guys would get suspicious of us or anything. 'Hey, it's those Ikari guys…so we went to the same restaurant' is precisely the reaction they would have, not 'Hey, those Ikari weirdoes are spying on us, let's kick their asses!'"

"You don't know that for sure, Ralf," Leona replied quietly. "And I suspect that they may know something that we don't. After all, Kusanagi and Yagami had contact with Yashiro Nanakase and the rest of the Shin Face Team, except for that woman, during the 1997 tournament. It would be foolish to ask them straight out if they know anything and bugging their room would be even ruder than doing this. It was…a compromise."

"Some compromise…"

Whip kicked Ralf in the shin, shooting him her customary "SHUT UP" glare, and the larger man had to bite his tongue to keep a curse from slipping out. Clark groaned to himself, but kept quiet enough to avoid attracting Whip's attention.

Right about then, the group's server came back, and received their orders summarily. After his departure, Kyo leaned into the center of the rectangular table they were all sharing, and said grimly, "I hate to spoil the mood, but…there's something serious we need to talk about, while we're still together and before we stuff ourselves and go off to party."

Ryu gave him a sharp look, and recalled the short discussion they'd had during Wind's match with Kensou:

"_**You two…you have yet to explain to us what exactly is with the Shin Face Team. You said earlier that they were supposed to be dead, didn't you?"**_

"_**Yeah, they are," Kyo admitted after a moment of silence. "…Look, I don't want to explain this right now, all right? After these prelims are over, I'll get into it."**_

"Well, we're all ears," Sakura said cheerily."What's on your mind?"

Kyo quickly gave a summary of the history that he and Iori had recounted to Ryu and Ken the day before to Cammy, Chun-Li, Sakura, Hinata, and Sean, with repeated confirmation from Iori, Shingo, and Mary that he was telling the truth.

After finally convincing them to at least accept that his very strange story was POSSIBLY true, Kyo finally got to the crux of the matter. "Earlier, when we faced down those Shin Face goons, it came up that, well, they were supposed to be dead. See, the thing is that three of them – Yashiro, Shermie, and Chris - were…or rather, are… the Heavenly Kings of Orochi. These guys are his strongest servants, with powers that exceed any that a human possesses…"

Chun-Li gave him a look that very plainly said, 'You are one crazy son of a gun', and was about to say as much when Iori cut in, solemn and gruff as always.

"Think about what you saw Wind do, and ask yourself if it's really so impossible for this to be the truth. It sounds crazy, and wacky, and all of that, but it's the truth. Anyone that was there can honestly tell you that Orochi is real and that YOU DON'T WANT TO SCREW WITH THE HEAVENLY KINGS."

The force he put into the last few words effectively silenced any complaints that would have been voiced. Satisfied that his point had been made, he nodded at Kyo to continue on.

"In the 1997 KoF tournament, Yashiro and the other two…they collected energy from everywhere to cause Orochi's return. They wound up short in the end, though, and to cover what they didn't get, they killed themselves and gave up their life force to get Orochi to reincarnate in Chris's body. Like I told you before, though, we sealed him up…and Chris went with him when we did."

"Oh, man, this really is crazy," Chun-Li finally muttered. "Dealing with Bison was less insane…"

"Way to spoil everyone's appetites, Yagami, Kusanagi," Cammy added miserably. "Now we have to worry about those freaks bugging out and trying to murder all of us…that is, if they want their master back."

"…Most likely," the redhead admitted falteringly after a moment.

"Well," Kyo cut in, "at this point, I think it's safe to say that even if they do come after any of you, you're more than strong enough to, at the very least, hold them off. The only reason I brought it up is because I remember Ryu asking me about it earlier, and I would've forgotten if I hadn't said anything."

The group's collective irritation quieted a little when they heard the compliment Kyo gave to their skills, and after a while, they nodded in acknowledgement of Kyo's words. Of course, the servers came back with plates of food not long afterwards, and Ken's face lit up as he spoke for just about everyone.

"Let's chow down, I'm friggin' starving!"

The blonde American took up his utensils and began digging into his plate of pasta and meatballs, and while Chun-Li and Sakura had to give him a dirty glare for his piggish habits, the others began to eat their own food with much better manners.

Meanwhile, Leona was carefully processing the newer bits of information she'd heard from the conversation. She had known that the Shin Face Team's members had died in 1997, even if she'd been under an influence…that had clouded her judgement, to say the least. But the fact that they'd pulled suicide to revive Orochi let her know that they were not to be 'screwed with', as Yagami had so indelicately put it. The reason they had for doing what they'd done was another indicator, one that was far more serious than any other.

_They want to revive Orochi, again. Well, that won't be happening._

"Let's go," she said quietly to her teammates. "We have a report to make to Heidern."

Ralf sighed in relief and stood up first, making for the door right away. Clark and Whip sighed almost simultaneously before going after him; Leona was the last to leave, stopping only to glance thoughtfully at the group of friends stuffing their faces in front of her before following her own teammates out of the restaurant.

About an hour later, the group of friends had stopped eating altogether, the wonderful food of the Cool Jam Spot digesting well in their stomachs. Even grouchy Iori was feeling rather content for once, and he allowed himself an actual smile, though he purposely made it as small as he possibly could.

"I don't even know if I can make it to the hotel like this, Ryu-senpai," Sakura managed to say after a while. "My stomach feels so heavy, but so…satisfied."

"We'll manage it somehow," Ryu groaned. "…I must admit, though, I feel quite sluggish."

"It's called 'The Itis'," Ken informed his training partner. "Hits you when you get full up with food and it doesn't leave for a while."

"I see…maybe that's what I felt at the banquet that night in the hotel. It most certainly feels the same…"

"Yo, are we gonna sit here and talk or are we gonna head back to the hotel and PARRTAAY?!" Sean said suddenly with a grouchy look crossing his face. "I mean, we may gotta waddle there, but it's better than lying 'round here!"

"Kid's got a point," Cammy said, pushing her chair back with a satisfied groan. "Let's start walking off this impending weight gain before Southtown's weasels sink their teeth into us."

Everyone nodded assent, and after a quick assessment of the bill (and subsequent pooling of money to pay for the large meal), the group left the restaurant, just as the Eight Maiden's Musicians started to play 'Stormy Saxophone 2: The Wild Man's Ballad'. Of course, this was less than pleasant to the lead singer, whose face would have fallen to the ground if it was physically possible; the song fell into disarray immediately as the guitarist and sax man tried to wake him from his stupor.

* * *

When the entire group finally got back to the Marriott, they split up into three smaller groups to avoid clogging up the elevators. The short ride was largely uneventful, and things only lit up once they reassembled on the proper floor, hustled into Ryu and Ken's room, kicked on the music, and broke out the drinks (naturally, poor Shingo and Sean had to settle for something non-alcoholic, and Iori wasn't a fan of liquor anyway).

Within the hour, Ken and Sean had gotten into a dance-off, space they had, while everyone else, even Kyo and Iori, watched them in amazement or amusement – mostly because they both looked like idiots.

"OK, master, here it comes…my number one, super-AWESOME breakdance routine!"

"You don't know how to breakdance," Ken scoffed. "You'd be a better fighter if you could."

"OH NO, YOU DIDN'T!"

Quite suddenly, Sean went into a handstand and began to pedal his legs in midair, then pushed off the ground and pulled off several poses before landing in a crouch, one fist thrust upwards towards the ceiling.

"THE MATSUDA GROOVE, BABY! Can ya dig it?!"

If the music was on a record, it would have scratched at that precise moment. No one said a word, simply staring at Sean like he'd grown a third eye.

Cammy looked around, then sighed and spoke for the group. "So we're agreed. Ken wins the contest?"

"Aye," replied eight voices in unison.

"OK, great, let's move on. What's on the telly tonight?"

Chun-Li pulled out a TV guide and everyone but a dejected Sean scrunched together to take a look; a noisy ruckus broke out when the girls decided that they wanted to watch a sappy love movie while the guys were insistent on a pulse-pounding action flick. Eventually, though, the women won out by sheer force of numbers (and a few hits from both Chun-Li and Cammy), and the TV was soon tuned to the sappy, touchy-feely _Hearts in Bloom,_ much to the men's dismay.

The most awkward part was, without a doubt, the very end; when the star-crossed couple of the movie wound up separated forever due to a totally predictable twist, Cammy and Chun-Li, both slightly more tipsy than everyone else, wound up sobbing uncontrollably (and comically) into the shoulders of Iori and Ryu respectively, gripping them with strength the Hulk would have been hard-pressed to match. Both men, while completely capable of beating up violent brigands that wanted to assault the crap out of them, had no idea how to deal with two drunken, pretty women, and so remained silent, not even moving as the circulation in their arms shriveled up and died.

"Wow, Master, it looks like Ryu-senpai finally hooked her!" Sean whispered conspiratorially to Ken. "Heh, it was only a matter of time."

"No kidding," Ken replied with a growing grin on his face. "Ryu, you lucky son of a gun, getting a girl to grab on to you in the space of ten seconds without even trying."

"I didn't even think someone like that Cammy chick would even want to _touch_ Yagami," added Kyo in the subtlest tone he could manage. "I mean, damn, the dude hasn't given any girl a look for as long as I've known him."

"Wait a minute, Kyo-kun," Sakura cut in. "Are you trying to imply that he's…"

"He might be."

The gossipers stared blankly at Shingo, who had a diabolical grin on his face. Then they all broke into laughter, causing Iori to growl in irritation. However, given that one of his arms wasn't in proper working order, he couldn't beat the crap out of the little puke like he wanted to.

Of course, he was spared the trouble, as Cammy, overhearing the conversation, let go of Iori with far more grace than anyone would have expected out of someone so smashed and crunched her fist into Shingo's face.

"A hot bloke like Yagami could never be a queer!" she barked loudly. "Now I'll beat your arse bloody, you prepubescent worm!"

Iori groaned and closed his eyes in frustration as the British blonde made good on her promise several times over, adding the rest of the gossipers into her frenzied beatdown. When all was said and done, Cammy had left the room in a huff, leaving Ryu, Iori, Chun-Li (who was STILL gripping Ryu's arm like a vise, now completely passed out) and Hinata the only conscious people within.

"Well, so much for all that," Iori muttered, a slight sheepishness in his tone. He hadn't realized how strong Cammy was until he'd seen her floor Kyo with one punch, and though he never would have admitted it, he might've pissed his pants if he'd had a full bladder.

"This is why I try to avoid parties," added Ryu, his own voice no less subdued. "People get drunk, have a bit too much fun, and then…well, THIS happens."

Hinata nodded in silent agreement as steam apparently rose from the large knot on Sakura's forehead.

The three of them continued to sit there for a while, until Iori finally voiced a question.

"So, are we going after her?"

At that, Ryu just gave him a look that plainly said 'You must be f$^!ing joking'. After a few moments, Iori got the point, reached for another bottle of non-alcoholic apple cider - the third he'd gotten to within the last three or so hours- and popped the cork out.

"Well, here's to a nice long sleep later on and kick-ass fights in the finals."

"Kanpai," Ryu and Hinata replied automatically as the red-head put the bottle to his mouth and chugged it with practiced ease.

Once everyone else came back to consciousness, the party broke up very quickly; a blushing Chun-Li had immediately detached herself from Ryu's arm, stammering out an apology at least five times in the space of thirty seconds, before rushing off to find Cammy. Naturally, Mary followed her out, and the Cherry Blossom Brigade followed Mary, mostly because Sakura was worried about Chun-Li. Despite Kyo's jab at Iori's sexuality, the redhead nevertheless helped his semi-conscious rival out of the room, muttering thanks to Ryu and Ken for hosting.

"Well, that was wild," Ken stated matter-of-factly about five minutes after everyone left.

"Gonna have to give the cleaning lady a huge-ass tip to cover THIS mess."

"No kidding," Ryu muttered, rubbing his aching forehead. "Can we not talk about this and just go to bed? Seriously, I'm tired as all hell."

With a low whistle, Ken headed over to the bathroom, pajamas in hand. "Wow. You said hell. That's a red flag if I ever saw one."

Ryu winged a spare pillow at his training partner before collapsing onto his bed; within minutes, he was fast asleep, even as the shower - and one of Ken's many pieces of theme music, thanks to his portable media player and speaker set - began to blare loudly in his ears.

Unfortunately, the rest of the people on their floor weren't so lucky, as Ken began to sing along to the music blaring in the bathroom.

"Kakatte koi! Katteru ki nara! Hamukau yatsu wa mina tataku dake sa…!"

That night, almost every other team in the Marriott adopted a new, single goal, whether they were finalists or not:

CRUSH KEN MASTERS.

* * *

A/N: Hey, guys, been a while, yeah? Sorry, but things got hectic again and I got irregular writer's block throughout. But I worked through it, thanks in part to a healthy dose of GODLY STREET FIGHTER IV FOOTAGE. (XD) In response to a question put in my reviews – "Will you include SFIV stuff too?" – I believe that I very much will. Keep in mind, though, that this fic is post-SFIII, which means that it's also post-SFIV…and which ultimately means that the characters won't necessarily react in a very surprised manner to any SFIV events or the like that are referenced. Just giving a heads-up and all that.

I'll be putting out little music shout-outs throughout the story now, as I did in this chapter, mostly because songs have helped me get through writing this baby.

Keep tight, next chapter's coming soon. The teams assemble in Chiryu City, and are given a day or two to relax; upon hearing that Kyo's back in town, a certain priestess deigns to visit him and his teammates. Also, some plotting from several sides proves that, as usual, Heidern's paranoid suspicion of tournaments isn't completely unfounded.

(Also, to those that like my musical easter eggs, I'll correlate my shout-outs to the actual songs I referenced this chapter in the next update. Just to let people figure it out on their own and all that.)

EDIT (3/2/09): Fixed a slightly confusing typo up in the section where Cammy loses her mind. ;)


	14. Reunion of the Sun, Moon, and Mirror

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 14 – To Japan: Reunion of the Sun, Moon, and Mirror

* * *

The day after the celebration bash in the Marriott happened to be a Thursday, meaning that the day of departure for the qualifying teams was approaching rapidly. Nevertheless, after all that fighting and partying, the Ansatsuken, Justice, and Cherry Blossom teams were in no shape to do anything but sleep all day – and that is precisely what they were doing, even though they were passing up a chance to fight some more or buy some souvenirs.

However, other teams were not so relaxed, and kept on doing as they pleased, regardless of the hour or the action.

In fact, as the sun rose over Southtown, the Shin Face Team was gathered quietly on a rooftop, cellphones to their ears as they patched into a highly secure conference line to speak with their 'superiors' and confirm their actions for the next half of the tournament…only to be greeted by cheery 'hold music'.

"Man, this is so annoying," grumbled Yashiro as he tapped a foot impatiently. "Even if we're not in the same time zone, you'd think that this would be so much easier…Hell, we shoulda just done this the old-fashioned way."

"I've already told you, Yashiro, that it's too risky to open up that kind of communication channel with Kusanagi and Yagami around," Wind sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I would have needed to run around the entire city looking for reagents for the portal spell, and then we would have needed someplace to cast it where we wouldn't be seen by anyone. Even if this is slower and a little more annoying, it's more subtle."

As Yashiro continued muttering absently to himself, Shermie sidled up to him and rubbed his shoulders with a small smile; though a bit surprised at first, the large, grumpy man eventually relaxed under her tender hands, only to stiffen up when a deep, rumbling voice came through all of their phones.

"**This is Mukai…"**

Immediately, Wind bowed quickly despite the fact that her superior wasn't even speaking directly to her face.

"Master Mukai, I'm sorry for not getting to you earlier…"

"**It doesn't matter. You qualified, and that's what counts. The only thing you should be worrying about is making sure that things do NOT happen as they did last time…I didn't go to all the trouble of reviving your teammates for them to die as wastefully as they did when they revived our lord Orochi last."**

"If I may be so bold, sir," Chris whispered into the mouthpiece, "we are still here, you know."

"**Chris, I will not spare anyone's egos at this juncture. From here on out, too much is at stake for all of you to assume that the mistakes of the past will not repeat themselves."** He paused briefly, as if to gather his thoughts, then continued with a sigh. **"I assume that you have not harmed Kusanagi or Yagami, correct?"**

"As you ordered, sir, we have not," confirmed Shermie. "We came a little close, though…it seems that Leona Heidern is…somewhat suspicious of us, and almost engaged us."

"**She won't be a problem once this plan gets fully underway," **Mukai replied dismissively. **"Nevertheless, you mustn't aggravate her too much. She is Gaidel's daughter, after all."**

"Understood."

"**Now, remember this, all of you. You must gather energy from everyone you possibly can, not just the fighters, and you must not do it through fighting alone. If you do, there's a greater chance that you'll wind up short, AGAIN, especially since we have to overcome the seal that the Yata woman put on, even if it's weakening. And as I said, there will be NO SUICIDES THIS TIME. This tournament was difficult enough to arrange, even with the help of our new allies, for you all to mess it up."**

Everyone's faces soured in frustration at the mention of the 1997 fiasco, but no one said anything aside from "Aye, sir."

"**Good! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some business to attend to…"**

"I wish you luck, Master Mukai," stated Wind simply. "We will call you again if anything comes up."

"**Thank you, my dear. Orochi speed."**

The line clicked abruptly, and Yashiro immediately began glaring angrily at the phone.

"Dammit, he just loves to prate on about '97, doesn't he," he snapped. "Never mind that he wasn't there and didn't do jack squat to help where he WAS! Jesus, I can't believe that a lazy, judgmental prick like that is our boss!"

Wind strode over to him and slapped the back of his head loudly enough to make everyone wince.

"He brought you back to life despite the fact that you'd been lost in the netherworld for years, you ingrate. At the very least, you could try to ACT grateful!"

"I would if he wasn't so damn flaky! For Orochi's sake, the man _made_ us call him, told us what we already knew, lambasted us for something that happened at least a decade ago, and then ran off to go play one of his damn combat sports! Business my ass!"

"When you become as powerful as him, you can do those kinds of things. Now quit arguing with me and go pack, or whatever it is you want to do. And stay out of trouble like Master Mukai ordered us to!"

With that, Wind turned on her heel and vanished in a gust of air; her subordinates craned their heads skywards and saw her flying off somewhere."

"You really pissed her off, man," Chris chimed in. "You know how she feels about Mukai…why didn't you just shut up?"

"Because she thinks that he can crap rainbows," replied Yashiro, his voice less angry and more pitying. "She's not like us, Chris. You know that. She doesn't understand…that things are never as simple as they seem, especially when it comes to serving Orochi."

Chris nodded, his face a bit pale as he remembered what it had been like to have the embodiment of Gaia's messenger acting through his body, and how he'd been filled with excitement…and dread. Even though he and his teammates had gone so far to revive Orochi…it all felt so wrong, yet so right, in those moments when the eight-headed beast was acting through him.

Secretly, he found himself hoping that this time, that wouldn't be an issue.

* * *

Later on, at around noon, Leona, Clark, Ralf, and Whip were assembled in their own room, watching a movie on their TV. They were all wearing small earpieces, and tapping their feet idly as loud, gritty music played from the television.

"I hope the commander's not in a place where he can't get reception again," Ralf said after the fifteenth repetition of the 'please hold' music began in his right ear. "I wanna see how this movie ends and it's pretty hard to concentrate on Ron MacRain bustin' heads when this cheery crap won't quit playing in my ear!"

Leona sighed, ironically thinking something very similar, but didn't say anything, waiting for the music to be interrupted by Commander Heidern's rough voice. Eventually, her wish was granted, and two words broke the sickeningly cute tune.

"_Heidern here."_

"Sir," Leona said instantly. "We tried to contact you last night, but we couldn't get through. Are you all right?"

"_Yes, yes. Power went out for a few hours here, but it was nothing serious…It sounds like you've got quite a bit to report, judging from your eagerness. Go on ahead and share what's happened."_

Quickly, Leona related the entire story that she and the rest of the team overheard at the Cool Jam Spot; once she was finished, Heidern hummed deeply, satisfied greatly with what he heard.

"_I see…so Kusanagi suspects something too, it seems. This is good… very good, in fact. Leona, Ralf, Clark, Whip… I want you all to consider an alliance with those three teams, in the event that this tournament is really more than it seems. Given what you've just told me, they will most likely be very receptive to the idea, and if there is a…situation, it would be contained quite easily with all of you working together."_

"Understood," replied Leona matter-of-factly. "For now, though, we'll maintain our pattern..."

"_Yes, do so...and be careful, all of you. Heidern out."_

Ralf grinned in satisfaction as a car blew up on the television screen at that precise moment; Ron MacRain soon stepped away from the wreckage and delivered a pithy line, which was overshadowed by Ralf's loud shout:

"Right on time, boss. Rock on, Ron! Yippie-ki-yay!"

Whip slapped one hand to her forehead and used the other to slap Ralf as hard as she could. "Shut up, you lug, you're drowning out the movie!"

"Hey, don't get physical with me, _Sara_," Ralf shot back, not seeing Whip's eyes narrow dangerously. "I'm your CO, ain't I?"

CRACK.

Leona and Clark flinched visibly as Whip's fist sunk at least a foot into Ralf's face, knocking him unconscious with no effort whatsoever.

"Yeah, you are my CO… but if you call me Sara one more damn time I'll rip your larynx out!"

Sighing, Clark got up from the couch. "I'll go get a side of beef for Ralf's eye."

* * *

Finally, as the sun set over Southtown proper, the Justice Team awoke from their long, long slumber, and sat up in their beds with concerned looks on their faces. They remembered all too easily the events of last night (well, to some extent, thanks in no small part to copious amounts of booze), and didn't quite know how to discuss one subject in particular:

Cammy effectively admitting that she had something of a crush on Iori Yagami.

Naturally, the British bombshell was the one most embarrassed by the whole affair, as she had been one of the people willing to give him the most guff over anything. Now, she had just admitted that she found him intensely attractive at the very least, and it was pretty difficult for her to admit it, or accept that she'd MEANT IT.

"I mean, I was drunk off my arse," she muttered to herself. "I didn't mean a bloody word of it…I know I didn't."

Mary shrugged and cupped a hand to her chin. "I think you should stop getting so worked up about it. Yagami isn't all THAT bad, you know. He's just…really solitary and quiet, is all. If you got to know him, you might feel better."

Cammy groaned and fell back onto her pillow, muttering something unintelligible in what sounded like Cockney rhyming slang; Chun-Li looked over at her erstwhile rival with a bit of worry in her eyes, somewhat understanding her predicament but unwilling to actually speak seriously about the matter.

_Is it really different from me and…and Ryu? I doubt Yagami believes that Cammy's even attracted to him, though it'd be hard for him to think otherwise at this point…and Ryu, after last night, is probably the same way with me…_

Sighing, the brunette Chinese lady got up and shuffled towards the bathroom, trying to resist the urge to scratch her bottom.

"You gonna go out, Chun?" asked Cammy from her bed.

"After I take a shower, maybe," she replied. "Might just hang out in the dining hall downstairs and see if anyone I know is around."

Right as she closed the door behind her, two knocks came from outside; Cammy quickly hopped up and jogged over, peering carefully through the peephole to see who it could be.

"What's yer business?"

"We're from the tournament committee," a woman's voice replied. "We've got your tickets for your flight to Chiryu City."

Cammy opened the door, checking herself quickly to make sure she wasn't sloppy, and then pulled it open. A blonde with a simple bun and a fringe of hair covering one eye and a brunette with a short-business like haircut stood before her, wearing identical black-and-white / black-and-red outfits respectively.

"My name's Mature," said the blonde.

"I'm Vice," added the brunette gruffly. "And you are…?"

"Cammy," replied the Brit. "You've got our tickets for the flight, you say? Well, that's fine and dandy. When're we leaving?"

Vice scratched her head, then said, "Around midnight tonight."

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?! Oy! You're out of your minds, puttin' us on a bloody redeye without any warning!"

Mature managed a polite, reserved smile, despite the fact that her ears were now aching obscenely - and that she was feeling a tiny bit irked. "Pardon, ma'am, but it's not under our control. Surely you understand that?"

"Course I do," growled Cammy, more to herself than them. "It's still a load of bollocks!"

Vice bowed her head, as if she were apologizing, as she rummaged through her pocket for the tickets; the gesture, however, was meant to mask her growing rage and frustration.

"Here's your stuff," she said, false civility in her voice as she gave Cammy the three tickets. "Sorry about the time and such. You'll have to be there at least an hour in advance, but the airport isn't far from here."

Cammy nodded and mumbled a thank-you before closing the door. As soon as that happened, Vice's face soured up and she stormed away, with Mature following closely behind her.

"Damn crazy annoying-ass Brit," she snapped wrathfully. "What the hell is her DEAL, crying about when the $!&ing flight's leaving like we can do a damn thing about it?! Dammit, Mukai, I can't believe you resurrected us just to deal with this bullcrap! It's like working for Rugal again!"

Mature put a hand on her tan partner's shoulder and shook her head gently. "It's a bit much to say that, Vice. I don't believe Rugal would have revived us if he had the choice or the chance…"

"You're right about that, but this isn't much better. You know it!"

"Tell you what, we'll go get a good stiff drink after we're done with all this bother. But you've gotta keep yourself under control until then, all right?"

Vice gave Mature a dirty, but resigned look, and nodded as the two women stopped in front of the elevator; as the former pressed the up button, she looked to her blonde partner.

"Well? Who's next?"

Mature put a hand to her head in thought, and kept it there even as the elevator opened up and they both stepped inside.

"I can't quite recall, but it should be…"

Her words were cut off by the close of the elevator doors; pulleys whirred quietly as the car ascended within the elevator shaft.

* * *

Some time later, all twelve teams were assembled on the private plane taking them to Chiryu City; most of them were asleep, though, due in no small part to a combination of last-minute carousing and the time of day that it happened to be (well past midnight, to be frank).

Luckily, the seating arrangements were made to facilitate quiet rest rather than prevent it. Ash Crimson and the Shin Face Team, the least-liked competitors, were in the very back, while the Cherry Blossom, Ansatsuken, Muay Thai, and Justice teams sat in the middle of the plane; the Shinobi Alliance, Rindoukan Dojo, Beat Crusaders, and Team K' were three rows from the front.

Between them, only Ryu, Ken, Kyo, Sagat, Iori, Cammy, Chun-Li, K', and Kula were actually awake; everyone else was out cold (or in Maxima's case, in 'standby and saw logs' mode).

Iori blinked wearily and scrubbed at one of his eyes, trying to keep himself from drooling on his guitar catalogue. "Still don't get why the hell this flight was so late…"

"If I were you, I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about that," Cammy replied. "The lady that gave us our tickets was right pissed off after I brought it up with her – to her credit, though, she kept the explosion 'til after she left. And she DID get on this plane with the rest of us, so…"

"Hey, hey, let's not worry 'bout that," Kyo said suddenly. "Whoever she is, her irritation isn't our problem. Besides that…all this talk is making it difficult for me to remember what Chizuru's house is like."

Ken blinked. "Chizuru? You mean, the lady that helped you out with Orochi, right? Why are you thinkin' about her house?"

"Man, it's right outside of Chiryu City, and it's H-U-G-E. It's got two huge _onsen_, one for guys and the other for girls. Plus, there are a crapload of servants around, ready and willing to cater to your every need…well, within reason, anyway."

"Oh, YEAH!" whooped the blond-haired American. "Please, please, PU-LEEZ tell me that you're gonna get your teammates a place there."

"Chizuru said that we and our friends could stay as long as we liked so long as we didn't make a mess. And from what she was saying, there's probably enough room for us, Chun-Li and her gaggle, and the punk kids."

He indicated who he meant with the last remark by gesturing at the sleeping Cherry Blossom Brigade; Sakura and Hinata were leaning on Sean while Shingo was resting his head on the window.

"Ooh, a soak in an _onsen_ would be so nice," Chun-Li moaned. "It's been forever since I got a chance to just relax like that."

"Plus, we'll finally be able to resolve all of this underlying romantic tension. Let me tell you, Yagami, there are more than enough places for you and Cammy to just curl up and-"

Before Kyo could finish his sentence, he stiffened for a bit, then slumped over; Cammy had slugged him one right in the back of the head.

"See, this is why it pays to be a secret agent," she noted dryly. "Knocking people out has never been so simple and fun."

"He should've gotten knocked out immediately, though," Iori replied, keeping his eyes on his magazine. "Instead he froze up for a bit…pretty sloppy."

"Then let me refine it on you, you bloody wanker," Cammy growled dangerously as she leered at Yagami. "Unless you're scared?"

The redhead merely gave Cammy a look and a sly smirk, as if daring her to try; Cammy briefly considered it, but decided against it at the last minute, settling for a death glare before sitting back down.

As soon as she did, Kyo's head suddenly jerked up, and he rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. "What the hell was that?"

"Failed knockout rabbit punch," Sagat commented, eye still closed in meditation.

In the space of a breath, he too slumped over, though this time Cammy had hit much harder and deliberately took aim at the bridge of his nose.

"Now that right there was a good one," Kyo sniggered. "_Gaijin _are always feisty as hell. Good luck with her, Yagami."

Words cannot describe just how smoothly Iori and Cammy's fists smashed into Kyo's head and face the moment those words left his mouth; after the poor fellow passed out, the redhead and blonde looked into the other's eyes for a moment, and then went back to reading the magazine and sleeping respectively.

Ryu and Ken stared at each other before breaking up into raucous laughter, tears streaming down their eyes; Chun-Li joined in with a light, melodic chuckle.

Up front, K' and Kula, who'd been inadvertently listening to the entire thing, blinked in confusion.

"Those guys are crazy," K' muttered. "Kula, you stay away from 'em. They could be dangerous, or something."

Kula shrugged and sucked on her lollipop a bit. "If you say so, K-kun."

K' wilted a bit at the application of the name, but said nothing.

* * *

When the plane finally touched down at the airport and the teams disembarked sleepily, Team Ansatsuken, the Justice Team, and the Cherry Blossom Brigade quickly picked up their suitcases and headed to the entrance of the terminal.

"So, where's our girl Chizu-chan?" Ken said eagerly, looking about left and right. "I wanna get into that there _onsen_ and start having some fun!"

"I would prefer it if you, sir, were a bit more polite," a woman's voice replied, a note of amusement evident in it.

Everyone turned to face the speaker, a woman with long black hair and a simple white barrette with two small pearls at the very end on each side. Her dress was pure white, and immaculate in its brilliance. She smiled a bit at Ken's sudden blush and apology before she turned to Kyo.

"Kyo-kun, it's good to see you again." She let her eyes wander over to Iori. "And you as well, Iori-kun."

Iori nodded. "Thank you," he said with a reasonable degree of propriety.

"Nice to see you're healthy as well, Chizuru," Kyo replied. "Good news for you – Ash Crimson is here with us, he qualified."

Chizuru's smile frosted over a little bit, yet held a note of eager anticipation. "Ah, I see…Well, then, we'll have to have words with him, won't we?"

Kyo's voice was determined when he replied, "That we will."

* * *

Author's Notes: Wooooh, this one was a toughie. I hope the quality and pacing isn't too off, but I really wanted to get to the Chiryu City side of things. The next chapter will either be the hot springs episode that I've wanted to set up so badly, or I'll start off the tourney with the first match or two. Depends…Also, who was expecting Mature and Vice? I wasn't. (Literally, I just thought of it as I was writing, and I was just all like, 'OK, let's do this! It'll work!' I like how it worked out myself.)

I'm making a forum today for the story, so that you guys can talk as you like about what's up, make suggestions, etc. Here's the link: .net/myforums/Zero-Sennin/1060822/ I'm adding it to my profile, too, just in case.

Finally, to touch on the music reference I was talking about last time out, Ken's shower song was an excerpt from "Crimson Fists, Burning Blood" – a remix of Ken's Street Fighter II music with vocals added onto it. Youtube it if you like, it's pretty sweet.

On a departing note, I've had someone ask about seeing a sequel to this story; I'm not sure I can promise that, because I've got lots of other plot bunnies for other stories sitting around in my room. I won't give a definitive no, though.

OK, I'm out. Thanks a lot for your patience and reviews, guys.

~ZS, the Masterful Reploid Hermit


	15. Preparations: Into the City of Battle

The King of Street Fighters

A SF/KoF Fanfiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 15 – Preparations: Into the City of Battle

* * *

From the airport, it had only taken half an hour for Chizuru Kagura's limousine to carry the eleven members of the Ansatsuken, Justice, and Cherry Blossom teams to the sprawling estate that Kyo had so enthusiastically told them about on the flight; as they approached the ornate, yet traditionally Japanese, front gate, they could all see that he hadn't exaggerated one bit about the actual size of the place.

"Ken, I think this place is bigger than yours," Ryu managed to croak as the gates parted to let the car onto a winding path that cut through a verdant green field.

"Oh, really? News to me," replied Ken sarcastically.

"_Onsen_, here we come," Chun-Li cheered.

Chizuru's ever-present smile dimmed a bit, and she gently touched Chun-Li's shoulder.

"I was hoping to discuss what we were going to do about Ash Crimson, actually. It may be rude of me to ask this, but you'll have to wait_. _Especially since today is the first day of competition."

"Then why are we HERE?" Sean asked, scratching his short dreads.

"Matches don't start for a while," Iori explained. "And since we ARE getting my power back from Crimson, it wouldn't be a bad idea to plan first, would it?"

"I suppose not…"

The limo stopped at that point, and the doors opened by themselves, gliding out smoothly. Everyone immediately clambered out in some semblance of order, and faced the Kagura home for the first time.

There was a short flight of wooden stairs, leading to a polished wooden porch that wrapped around the entire building; the same porch was also connected to two smaller satellite buildings on each side of the house. All the roofs were multi-tiered, like any other Oriental building, and all three structures stood on thick, short stilts.

"The side buildings are guest residences," Chizuru explained. "The main building has about twenty rooms, and extends back to where the _onsen_ are. Feel free to go in and take showers now, if you'd like – each room is equipped with a Western-style bathroom, shower and tub included."

"OH, YEAH!" Ken whooped. "Ryu can finally stop smelling like concentrated armpits…he was stinking up the joint from the second we got onto the plane!"

"And that's because you were stupid enough to agree to spar with me," Ryu replied nonchalantly. "I mean, I asked, but I didn't expect you to say yes."

Ken was about to deliver his rebuttal when Iori slapped him in the back of the head and growled out a vague threat that involved bodily rearrangement of his arms, legs, and other parts of his body; taking the hint, Ken shut up immediately, moving mutely along with the rest of the group, up the stairs to the traditionally Japanese sliding double-doors.

Said doors slid apart as they stood in front of them, revealing a large, muscular man with a low cut mop of black hair, and a wiry, well-toned woman with an equally dark ponytail that dangled from the back of her head. Both were dressed in white kimono, and bowed deeply after taking their places on opposite sides in front of the door.

"Chizuru-sama, welcome back," the woman murmured, her head still bowed. "Shin and I will attend to your guests' luggage, posthaste. Shall they be staying in the main house or the guest houses?"

"They would prefer the main house, Rin," replied Chizuru. "After their battles today, they will be resting here, and we want to meet in the dining room right now for dinner and discussion."

"Allow us, then, to guide them into the first wing and allow them to choose their rooms."

Chizuru nodded and smiled before turning to the rest of the group. "Everyone, this young woman is named Yanagi Rin, and she is one of the head housekeepers here. She and her brother Shin will escort you to the guest wing of the main house that is closest to the dining room, where you may feel free to pick your rooms as you desire. I'll go on ahead and get a meal prepared for you in the kitchen."

"_Arigatou gozaimasu,_ Chizuru-san," Ryu said, bowing deeply at the waist. "We greatly appreciate it."

"No need for thanks – I'm all too happy to help. Now, Shin, Rin, please, let's get them settled. The flight has left them in sore need of a shower."

"Right away, Chizuru-sama," Shin responded with a curt nod and a step towards the interior. "Please, everyone, this way…"

The group followed Shin's lead, and soon disappeared into the house; Chizuru glided gracefully after them, her smile slowly taking on a sadder tone as she did.

Within the next hour and a half, the teams took their baths and changed into the simple white robes provided by the servants (as Kyo had said, they were everywhere – Hinata quietly voiced the suspicion that there was one for each guest room, and that they practically lived up in the rafters to facilitate helpful service at any possible time). The table wasn't very tall - only four or five inches above the ground, or at least enough to put their feet under if they so chose - and plush cushions served as their chairs. Chizuru sat at the head of the table, sipping tea, while Shin and Rin stood quietly behind her. The others, in contrast, were digging into their meal as if it were going to vanish, though even Ken managed to conduct himself with enough reserve to avoid looking like a total slob.

As their hostess watched them eat and joke, her gaze would flicker out to the serene pond that could be seen through the window she was facing, behind the table. The mere sight of the various flowers surrounding the water made Chizuru smile, as she remembered how she would sit out there with her older sister Maki during their summer visits to the compound and talk about the clan's past, its present, and even its future, grim as the latter two may have been.

_Back in those days, I never imagined what it would be like to take up this responsibility, and I never thought I would have to…if it weren't for Maki-neesan's tutelage, I wouldn't have given a second thought to the future's possibilities – or their dangers._

Shin cleared his throat quietly, bringing Chizuru out of her contemplation; everyone seemed to be coming to an end as far as food was concerned. Instantly, her attention shifted, and she asked, "I trust you all enjoyed dinner?"

"More like loved it," Ken replied for the group with a grin. "I never thought I'd taste such good sushi in my life!"

Rin blushed slightly, which was to be expected given that she had made the sushi, and looked off to the side to avoid revealing herself; Shin chuckled lightly into his sleeve.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. Sadly, it's time to shift our attention to a less pleasant subject...."

"So we're finally gonna decide on how to beat Crimson's pasty face in?" Iori mused darkly. "It's about time. I'm sick of thinking about how I'm going to wreck him – I want to actually get down to doing the thing."

"You're not gonna be the one to do it, though," Cammy put in. "You'll get murdered by that wanker if you so much as lay hands on him. He's got your power and Chizuru's, doesn't he?"

"Purple flames, florescent green acid-fire-whatever, and the ability to seal powers, yes," replied Kyo, knowing that Cammy's flippant approach had probably pissed off Iori – and he didn't want them to have their first 'lover's spat' in Chizuru's house.. "But if Yagami faces him down, and somehow manages to win, he can take his fire back. That'll weaken Crimson AND get him out of the tournament."

"That's true, but if he gets killed, it does us no good at all. Nor is it fair in the bloody slightest to him, putting all that pressure on him to win."

"It's no big deal, woman," Iori shot back, half-irritated. "If you think I'm so weak, then why don't you do it?"

Cammy faltered for just a moment before she twisted her face into a very ugly frown. "Listen here, you, just because I'm trying to show some sort of concern for you doesn't mean that I think you're weak!"

"Well, that's what you're insinuating…and I don't like it one bit."

"Are you listening to yourself? How in bloody hell did I insinuate any damn thing, you stupid tosser?!"

"All right, all right, that's enough!" Ryu said sharply. "Look, Iori, if we fight Crimson, you get first dibs. If you lose, though, Ken or I will handle him; Kyo, you'll stay out of it, just in case. Either way, we're going to stay above board on this, and fight him in the ring ONLY unless he attacks one of us alone. Isn't that fair?"

Kyo nodded, seeing the sense in the plan and willing to skip out on his own chance to massacre Crimson if it meant keeping his powers out of the wrong hands; Iori, after glaring angrily at Cammy and everyone else at the table, sucked a tooth and grunted, effectively agreeing with the decision.

"What about those Shin Face guys?" Hinata asked worriedly, feeling a bit afraid of the sudden silence that settled over the group. "They're dangerous too, right? Especially since they're probably trying to revive Orochi, or whatever it is they're doing."

"She brings up a good point," Sakura said with a small frown. "I'm guessing we could just beat them up if we have to, but since they killed themselves last time just to get their job done, I doubt that breaking some bones would stop them."

"Well, it's the best course of action, I'd say," Shingo replied. "If all goes well, Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru-san should be more than equipped to knock the entire team and/or Orochi flat. And if they're not, beating the Shin Facers up would most likely delay them long enough for us to get Iori and Chizuru-san ready to fight."

"I agree with the kid," Cammy said, her expression thoughtful. "Tactically speaking, that's the soundest way to do it."

"Then we're agreed," said Chizuru briskly. "Ash Crimson and the Shin Face Team will be defeated within the confines of the tournament unless alternate circumstances force our hand." She looked over her shoulder at Rin. "I believe we have about thirty minutes to get our guests to the arena for the matches, Rin. Guide them back to their rooms and help them prepare, if you would."

"Right away, Chizuru-sama," murmured the dark-haired girl; as she moved to the doorway, Shin followed to assist her in leading the group back. Chizuru remained seated, and while a few members of the group spared her a glance, they were quickly ushered out of the room by Shin, who knew all too well what was dwelling on her mind.

Once the room was clear, Chizuru stood up at last, and stared wistfully out at the pond, the sadness back in her smile yet again – mixed with a healthy amount of bitterness, to boot.

"It's funny, isn't it, Maki-neesan," she murmured absently as she stared out at the pond, remembering, yet again, days long gone by. "Someone like me, who never really planned much for the future, was just overseeing a meeting, trying to discuss how to take down veritable menaces to the peace of the human race."

"_Even if you don't want to lead, you will have to," _replied Maki's voice, a mere echo of a past conversation. _"One day, I will not be here to help you. You will have to work with others, as best you can, and take the lead as you need to."_

"It's harder than I would have expected, especially since I'm just sitting on the sidelines and offering up ideas now and then. It doesn't feel right, but I can't do much else…."

She paused, and then finally forced the words she didn't want to say out of her mouth, the tears she'd been restraining streaming down her face like rivers flowing abreast of one another.

"It's just like how I felt at that time…that horrible time, right after Goenitz killed you. Now, just like then, I know that I can do so little, and that I might fail at whatever I do try. I hate this feeling, but…but…."

She sank to the floor, allowed the strong, reserved front that she put up for everyone to be swept away by her sorrow.

"I can't do anything about it…the same way I couldn't stop you from dying," she whispered brokenly. "All I can do is hope that things will be all right, and that no one else will be hurt because they had to take care of me and my needs."

Any further words died in her throat after that, and she let herself cry as she sat on the floor, totally immersed in the pain she'd held in for so long.

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, the teams were making their way back to the entrance of the house, to get into the limo and head out to the city. Everyone had changed into their 'Sunday best' for the occasion, and it showed in the way they were all walking tall and proud.

Ryu and Ken had pulled on fresh _gi_, while Kyo had switched his plain white T-shirt for a black one with a cross outlined in white at its center. Iori was wearing his trademark black jacket, but the shirt below it was blood-red instead of white, and his pants and shoes were both an immaculate shade of white.

Chun-Li had finally put on her traditional blue _qipao, _giving her full resemblance to her pictures from the second World Warrior tournament, right down to the covered buns. Mary's sleeveless top now had red straps and a blue body, and Cammy had added a thin, light-green T-shirt to her olive-green leotard/red gauntlets and beret/black boot combination, with a special insignia on both shoulders specifically denoting her rank as Delta Red's second in command.

Sean, in the vein of Ryu, had tied on a black headband, and his gloves had been emblazoned with his first name. Shingo had shed the blue school jacket he'd been wearing, and was proudly wearing the Kusanagi gloves Kyo had given him in 1997. Hinata and Sakura were both dressed in jackets with flowing tails, and stylish blue jeans; however, Sakura's was pink, in contrast to Hinata's blue. Moreover, Sakura had also tied _her_ old headband back on, and a firmer, harder _bokken_ (as opposed to the bamboo shinai) was shoved in her belt.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I could walk all over anybody right about now," Shingo said with a grin. "We're gonna be kickin' butt and taking names today!"

"Oh, yeah," concurred Sean with an equally large (but twice as stupid-looking) smile.

Kyo rolled his eyes tiredly, and then looked over his shoulder for the fourth time in several minutes. "Where's Chizuru? Isn't she coming with us?"

Before Shin or Rin could even think of a response that would get Kyo's mind off that subject, the lady in question slid gracefully out of the house, smiling as usual, though she tried to avoid meeting anyone's gaze for too long as to keep attention away from her slightly red and puffed eyes.

"Pardon me," she murmured. "I got a little lost…in my own thoughts, and the house, as well. Shall we go?"

While a few of the others, especially Kyo and Iori, noticed the obvious signs of Chizuru's distress, no one decided to make an issue of it, and as the limo's door slid open, everyone filed in and sat themselves down. As soon as Chizuru knocked gently on the screen separating the driver from the passengers, the door closed, and the limo pulled out immediately.

* * *

The Chiryu City Megadome, unlike Southtown's stadium, was a domed facility, with space for quite a few people (to put it mildly). A ring, much larger than the one from the preliminaries, was standing right below the large screen display, with pads all around it, presumably for contestants that were bodily knocked out of the arena. Long benches were also set up nearby, as prime viewing space – and a convenient waiting area – for the competitors. Despite the fact that evening time was maybe an hour or so away from starting, there was still quite a turnout, and one could feel the anticipation in the air.

All twelve teams were assembled on the arena floor, in the ring, waiting patiently for the announcer to show up and get things started. After a few minutes, two women made their way out of one of the locker rooms, and Iori visibly stiffened when he saw their flirtatiously venomous glares settle on him.

"Mature and Vice?" he muttered to no one in particular, feeling his blood run cold. "Oh, _damn it!_"

Both women noticed Iori's sudden reaction to their appearance, and smirked sadistically as they approached him, ready to pay back the suffering they'd endured because of him….

And they would do it by flirting with him first, to remind him of his guilt and piss him off just a little, then killing him privately later.

"So, Io-chan, how have you been?" Mature crooned in playfully sultry Japanese as she ran a hand down his cheek. "Still looking handsome as ever, but it seems you're a bit wound up….Maybe Vice and I can help you with that, a little later?"

Iori slapped her hand away and gave her a glare that truly would have made water run backwards; Mature even shrunk back a bit from the unexpected surge of rage she felt from him, while Vice quickly moved into attack position, just in case.

"Don't play games with me and stay the hell out of my way," he said slowly, putting a spike of enraged killing intent behind each word. "Or…I'll kill you."

He had to force the last four words out of his mouth, but he did it so strongly that neither woman noticed the momentary loss of confidence and rage; instead, as he had hoped, they drew away from him and went towards the ring, giving him space to sigh and try to shake off the foreboding feeling in his heart.

"Too damn close…."

A few of the other fighters had noticed this exchange, but right as Ryu (or Cammy) was about to broach the topic, Vice picked up a microphone and snapped it on, with Mature standing right behind her.

"Good afternoon, everybody!" she called out, her normally sullen face lighting up with (fake) cheer. "My name's Vice and my friend here is Mature! Tell us right here, right now: are you ready to get this show on the road or what?!"

The crowd responded with a vigorous roar, prompting a truly feral grin to appear on the tan woman's face. "Oh, yes! That was exactly what I wanted to hear! Now, all of you guys, listen up, and listen up well! This here's the real deal – no more weak preliminary stuff! That's why we're going to do things a bit differently from here on out. Kindly educate them for me, Mature?"

With a nod, Mature took the mike from her partner and did exactly as she'd been asked, smiling all the while. "Well, the simplest way to explain is to say that all conventions from the preliminaries do not apply anymore. The only way for matches to end now is by TKO, forfeit, or referee intercession. And trust me when I say that Vice and I know how to intercede."

"Damn right," Vice interjected, gracefully accepting the mike back from her longtime partner in crime. "So watch yourselves, contestants, or you'll really be taking dirt naps." She looked about the arena for a moment, and then nodded firmly, as if confirming something to herself. "Before we put up the first match, let's introduce some special guests from the prelims that'll be watching the matches with us! First off, from the marvelous Team Kyokugen, we've got the Mighty Dragon and his sister – Ryo and Yuri Sakazaki!"

The audience burst into wild cheers as Ryo and his sister, dressed as if they were going to fight instead of sit on the sidelines, stepped out of the lockers and faced the crowd with smiles and waves.

"As for our second team, well, they suffered the most devastating loss in the prelims. Nevertheless, they're still going strong, and they're not to be taken lightly! Here they are – Athena Asamiya and Sie Kensou, the Psycho Duet!"

Athena and Kensou showed up right behind Ryo and Yuri, with small, but cheerful, smiles. Kensou still wore the outfit he'd competed in (albeit a new one without all the rips, cuts, and general battle scarring, though he was still sporting bandages on his arms. Athena, however, had (unsurprisingly) changed into a short-sleeved red-and-blue top, with a skirt and boots that matched the blue, though this had the unfortunate effect of revealing that the abuses Wind had heaped on her, as well; her arms, and legs, much like Kensou's, were swathed with bandages. Seeing this, Chun-Li had to violently suppress the urge to splatter a Wind-shaped stain on the wall, and her teammates shuddered as they saw the angry light flare in her eyes.

Once the applause died down, the guests sat down on one of the benches around the ring, and Mature and Vice smiled in eerie tandem.

_Now the main event can really start, _the blonde thought happily as she gave Vice a sly look. _With these fools pounding on each other like this, they'll only revive Lord Orochi faster – especially since the potential for fresh fighters every round will increase the energy we get._

"All right, Randomizer!" Vice called out, pointing dramatically to the Jumbotron above. "Show us our first matchup of the night!"

A small red dot flew across the white screen as soon as she spoke, tracing out the words "The King of Street Fighters Tournament" in bold cursive. Shortly afterwards, the dot morphed into a rectangle, and generated two lines of text in a strong blocky font before becoming a dot again and flying off screen.

_Match 1:_

_The Shinobi Alliance vs. Team Justice_

Mai grinned broadly and turned to face Cammy, fan already in hand. "Well, well, well, look at this! Seems like we get to settle our little score, you disrespectful _gaijin-onna_. You'll pay for insulting my clothes during the prelims!"

"I have no intention of going first, if you're trying to get this over with fast," remarked Cammy lightly, turning away from Mai in an (effective) show of disinterest. Immediately afterwards, she nudged Mary and jerked a thumb in the direction of the ring. "What do ya say, Blue? Wanna give these tossers a good show?"

Mary nodded and stepped in, beaming brightly. "Well, who's first up?"

Suddenly, Ibuki appeared inside the ring, with a dramatic puff of smoke to boot. Her youthful face was set in a determined grin right before she pulled the broad brim of her undershirt above her mouth.

"Ibuki, ready to go!" she shouted. "Better bring your best!"

"Oh, I will," Mary shot back, shifting her shoulders up to enter her stance.

Mature and Vice moved as one to the outskirts of the ring, and after confirming that all the others were sitting on the benches, they shouted one word:

"BEGIN!"

* * *

Author's Notes: Two months. Two very long months. Yes, I know, I'm late. But things got crazy mad insane busy, really. And I wanted to make sure that this chapter kept things up to my standard, while correcting a few of the problems I've noticed in my own writing.

Hope nobody minds the Chizu-angst. I figured she was a bit more tormented than she let on, really, about this whole power loss thing, and I wanted to use it to flesh her out. Also, Shin and Rin are obviously two more OCs GASP.

First off, like I said, music from the KoF and SF series will have more active mentions in the story as it progresses. You'll see just how much, soon enough.

Also, I've got a recommendation for you guys, over in the regular SF section: _Beyond Alpha._ This story is good. Really good. I mean INSANELY good. If you've got the time, check it out, leave nice feedback, and wait eagerly with me for the next installment.

Next time on _The King of Street Fighters:_ The wild fight between the ninjas and the lawmakers is turbo-charged and powered up…and one of the fighters will be forced to unleash a power they hate to see, just to pull out a win for their team.

See it all in Chapter 16: _"All Guns Blazing: Shinobi Alliance vs. Justice Team"_.

Until the next engagement,

~ZS, The Masterful Reploid Hermit


	16. All Guns Blazing

The King of Street Fighters

A KoF/SF fanfiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 16 – All Guns Blazing: Shinobi Alliance vs. Justice Team

* * *

As soon as the match began, Ibuki leapt forward, tucking into a quick flip as she did, and then kicked at Mary twice. The blonde Sambo fighter took the first hit head on, but dodged the second time, grabbing Ibuki's leg when she did, and used it to slam the ninja into the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw, and made a point to hold on.

Despite Ibuki's growls and best efforts to shake Mary off, it did her no good; the police officer had already shifted into a tight grab, and was digging an elbow into the back of Ibuki's leg.

"I'm not that easy to shake!" Mary announced proudly. "You'd better try harder!"

In reply, Ibuki smirked, and with a flick of the wrist, a small pellet appeared in her hand. She discreetly rolled it towards Mary, and right as the blonde saw it approach, it exploded into a cloud of smoke. Quickly, Ibuki leapt out of Mary's loosened grasp, taking time to hit Mary in the face for good measure, and rolled clear of the cloud. Once it cleared up, Mary shook her head violently, eyes closed tightly, trying to clear her mind and get back on track; the blow had really hurt her, her head was spinning, and if she didn't get herself together in time, Ibuki could take the match no problem.

Despite her confusion, Mary managed to look up just in time to see Ibuki charging at her, and so she moved to the side as quickly as she could, then rammed forward with all her strength behind her shoulder once Ibuki came close, hitting the ninja girl in the leg and giving herself a moment to get up.

Of course, Ibuki wasn't stopped by that, and caught herself before she hit the ground. Then, with a loud cry, she swept a foot out and knocked Mary over, then tossed a brace of kunai knives at the downed police officer, pinning the edges of her pant legs to the floor.

"Give up already! You're outmatched!" Ibuki declared, crossing her arms confidently. "The smoke cloud has trace elements of a disorienting gas, and even though it's probably worn off by now, you're still in no state to take me out."

Mary immediately began to sit up just enough to grab and remove the knives, but Ibuki stopped her with a sharp kick to the side of the head. Groaning in agony, Mary let herself fall back to the ground, barely managing to put her arms in front of her to keep her head from banging against the arena floor.

_Dammit! She's ruthless! Come on, Mary, you've been in worse scrapes than this! There's got to be a way to turn this around!_

Seeing that her opponent wasn't going to consider quitting anytime soon, Ibuki decided to 'influence' the decision. Calmly, she stepped on Mary's leg, and slowly began shifting more and more of her weight onto it.

"If I have to, I'll break both of your legs to make you stop, you know. It'll be easier on you if you just give up."

Mary could tell that Ibuki was mostly bluffing, and that she'd probably stop at fracturing her shinbone rather than go for an outright break. Nevertheless, she wasn't in an ideal situation, and it wasn't a smart idea to try and push her luck with how far Ibuki was willing to take all of this.

So, she did the only thing she really could at a time like this.

She went dynamite.

Without a moment's hesitation, she pulled up both of her legs, tearing parts of her pants away as she did. Luckily for the male portion of the audience, they stayed largely intact, aside from a few holes here and there, which prevented the possibilities of girlfriends (and Terry Bogard) beating the crap out of any particularly lecherous-looking fellows. Ibuki's honed reflexes immediately turned Mary's last minute breakout into a quick rapid-fire exchange of blows that ended with a sharp uppercut from the Sambo user. Since the attack carried Ibuki straight into the air, it was all too easy for Mary to follow up with a brand-new technique she'd been dying to try out, even though her head was beginning to spin again from the recent blows she'd taken from Ibuki.

Putting all the strength she had left into her legs, she bounded upwards after Ibuki, grabbed the shinobi girl's leg, and flung her arm down, tossing Ibuki to the ground, before dive-bombing, knees first, into Ibuki's stomach.

"MARY…DYNAMITE DIVE!"

Everyone present let out the collective breath they'd been holding as soon as the move impacted, and once Ibuki stopped moving beneath her, Mary did as well, though she also had the presence of mind to quickly check Ibuki's body to see if she'd done any serious damage. When she was sure that Ibuki was, in fact, pretty much all right, she let out a sigh of relief as she stood up…then swore angrily as her legs gave out and she fell over, flat on her back.

"Oh, come on!" she growled. "Cut me a break already!"

_A DKO, then? _Vice thought to herself, her tone dry even in her mind. _Oh, wow, that's nice, Blondie. You've definitely improved in the last decade…._

"All right, that's a wrap! Blue Mary and Ibuki are out of the game! Teammates, get 'em out of here and put up your next fighters!"

Chun-Li moved before Cammy did, scooping Mary up and sitting her on one of the benches in record time before re-entering the ring, already poised for battle.

"Well, come now, we don't have all night," she said languidly. "Who's next, hm?"

Maki immediately rose to the challenge, jumping up from her crouch and flipping gracefully into the ring. After handing off Ibuki to Andy, she turned back to Chun-Li, knocked the tips of her sneaker against the ground, and spun her tonfa around before giving the Chinese brunette a thumbs-up.

"Let's do this."

* * *

The moment Vice cried out "Begin", Chun-Li leapt up and forward, taking to the skies. When she got into attack range, her leg snapped out and blurred rapidly as she executed a Hyakuretsukyaku while still in midair. Maki grimaced at first, but it soon turned into more of a wolfish smile, and blocked at least half of the kicks with sheer speed and timing alone, then broke from her guard to roll forward and hit Chun-Li in the stomach before the rest of the attack could land.

Chun-Li managed to catch herself as she hit the ground, but she was still open enough to get slammed by Maki's shoulder, returning her to the air. Before the dazed Supercop could even react, Maki leapt at her, tackling her in the stomach, and drove her into the ground. Immediately after that, Maki leapt straight up, twirled about in midair a bit, and then dropped onto Chun-Li elbow first, eliciting a groan of pain from the Chinese woman. After getting back to her feet, Maki flipped away from Chun-Li's body, landed neatly, and began watching her opponent to see if was going to give up the ghost or not.

To the surprise of most of the spectators, Chun-Li did in fact get up, though with noticeable difficulty, and took her stance up again, much more measured in her movements to avoid aggravating her injuries.

"Come now, did you think it would be THAT easy?" asked Chun-Li rhetorically.

"No, of course not," Maki said. "Who do you take me for, Dan Hibiki?"

Chuckling, Chun-Li shook her head quickly. "Oh, heavens no…. No one deserves an insult like that. I'm sorry."

Maki nodded, as if to say "It's all good", and sprinted forward again, ready to tackle Chun-Li and press her into the ground again – this time, with enough force to actually knock her out cold. However, Chun-Li wasn't going to have any of that, and it showed in the way she waited, with inhuman patience, for Maki to draw closer and closer, before firing off a point-blank Kikouken, much stronger than the one she'd used to dupe Vanessa before. Maki dipped under it with ease, but didn't realize that it had only been a setup until Chun-Li's foot crashed into her jaw, and sent her somersaulting backwards. Somehow, years of training exerted their influence over her, and she flipped out of her spin just before hitting the ground and sliding a foot or two away.

_Damn, that one hurt…. She's really not playing around anymore, is she? _Maki thought to herself as she struggled to her hands and knees. _This is bad…._

"Here I come!" Chun-Li declared as she rushed at Maki, both hands glowing with surging energy. "Are you ready?!"

"I'd better be, or this fight's over with," Maki muttered to herself, hastily putting together a plan that Guy would have immediately called 'foolish, insane, highly suicidal, and befitting of no Bushin ninja…except for you, Maki'.

With a deep breath, Maki summoned up her own reserves of _ki, _much like Chun-Li was doing. She knew that she couldn't even try to use it as offensively as Chun-Li could, mostly because Bushin-ryuu discouraged the use of attacks like the Hadouken and the Kikouken and mostly because she wasn't the best at using _ki _anyway. However, she could, at the very least, use it to toughen up her body just enough to withstand the torturous attack that was about to engulf her, and then pay Chun-Li back in spades.

_Assuming that I can even manage to move afterwards, anyway…._

Chun-Li smiled tightly as she came to a screeching halt in front of Maki, and slammed her charged palms together at the wrists, creating a huge oval of _ki _between her hands that sucked the blonde ninja girl into it and struck her repeatedly. "TAKE THIS! KIKOUSHOU!"

Maki wasn't able to stop herself from screaming in agony, but she didn't let the attack batter her into unconsciousness. _Focus, _she ordered herself. _Focus. Focus. Absolute…focus._

Finally, it ended, and Maki realized, to her weary relief, that her mantra had more or less worked. Her body was shaking and trembling, but she still felt as if she could fight, or at least put in one telling blow.

Chun-Li didn't even have time to curse as Maki roared and slugged her in the face, with full power, right in the jaw. Though it didn't have enough strength to put her flat on the floor like all of Maki's haymakers normally could, it did hurt more than enough to bring stars to her eyes, and the next thing the Supercop knew, she was on her knees, then sprawled out insensately on the ground.

Maki, arm still outstretched, huffed and panted for a while, quickly raising her head to scan the crowd. She could feel her body get ready to just give out on her, but she had to be sure that he'd seen her. She had to be sure that he knew she didn't quit when it counted.

To her satisfaction, she saw him on the north side of the arena, in a mid-level seat. His short brown hair, steady, measured brown eyes, and the brown, serious face that could be friendly or fearsome…

There was no doubt. It was Guy…her rival, her 'boss', and…her friend.

_Well, I did my job, Guy, _she thought with a smirk as she stared directly into his eyes and took a step forward to catch his attention for sure, knowing that she was probably going to pass out soon. _I brought the team to the big stage, and now I'm done here._

As if he could read her mind, Guy nodded shortly at her.

_You'll get your chance, _he mouthed quietly. _And even if you fail, you'll always be next in line. Genryusai-sensei would have wanted it that way. I'm sorry I had to put it to the test like this, but I wanted to be sure that you could deal with me giving you orders._

Maki nodded drowsily, and then let her next step guide her straight to terra firma. She was aching, and tired, no doubt - but like she'd said, her job was done for now. She'd been sent to the tournament with the express order to get her team into the finals, and she'd put them on the road.

_It's all up to you now, Bogard…Shiranui._

* * *

Vice's face soured up intensely after witnessing the second DKO in a row, leaving Mature to take up the mantle of announcer yet again to make sure that Vice didn't break into rage like she normally did.

"OK, everyone, we still have matches to get done," the blonde woman said smoothly. "Still, I think a short break is in order. Be back in five!"

She snapped off her microphone, and mostly everyone got up to seek refreshments at the concession area, including Vice. Cammy was already in action, placing Chun-Li next to a sore and tired Mary, while Athena and Kensou looked on quietly.

"This is a bit of a bother," the British bombshell mumbled. "Gotta take down both of those guys just to get us into the next set of bouts, do I? Why in bloody hell does it always fall to me at the most critical points?"

"You can do it easy, Cams," Mary said to her teammate. "You're a secret agent, after all. Remember when we fought the first time we met, just as a test of strength? You beat me easily. When you sparred against Chun-Li, you two fought to a draw, but I would've probably given you the win. You were just that good."

Cammy briefly studied Mary's face before nodding and turning to scan the audience. "Thanks for the vote, Mary."

_Still, I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself together out there if it gets too rough. For some reason, combat like this always makes it harder to hold back…__**that.**_

She sighed mentally and continued looking for two or four familiar faces that she'd been expecting to see somewhere in the stands, and was pleasantly rewarded for her efforts when a female voice gently broke into her thoughts.

"_Over here, Cammy. To your right."_

Smiling at the familiar sensation of hearing a telepath she knew in her mind, Cammy followed the voice's direction, locking eyes with the purple-haired woman that had just spoken to her.

_You made it, März. Good – I was starting to think my team was getting too soft from easy living. Where's everyone else?_

"_You know Juni; she had to go get something to eat, since she decided to show off and teleport around all day. Juli and Février went with her to make sure she didn't cause a ruckus and Satsuki went to the bathroom."_

Cammy allowed herself a chuckle and shook her head. _You guys…Sometimes I wonder how we've managed to live as long as we have, the way we act now and then._

"_Lots of skill, and the mixed blessings we carry," _März replied as a sad smile fluttered across her face. _"You know that better than anyone, nicht?"_

…_Yeah,_ Cammy admitted after a while, feeling her arms burn uncomfortably. _Sometimes, I really wonder if it's worth it._

"_If it wasn't, I don't believe we'd be talking like this. These gifts may make life harder for us, but for me, being able to share a conversation like this is really special. If I were you, meine liebe Führerin, I'd buck up a little and try to get ready for the fights to come, and prepare myself to use what I have because I have it and because it can help me. You know what I mean?"_

_Yeah, März, I get you. Thanks for the pep talk._

Their link broke, and Cammy turned away, her expression still grim as she noticed people begin to file back into their seats.

"Looks like the main event's on…."

Silently, she stepped up into the ring, and briefly looked over to Chun-Li and Mary, who were being healed by Athena, then turned to face a grinning Andy with a small smile of her own.

"OK, mate, let's do this right," she said. "Don't hold back, savvy?"

"Oh, I won't," Andy replied.

Mature waited, watching the crowd file back into their seats, until Vice finally emerged from the passage that led back up into the stands. Once she was sure that everyone was paying attention, she nodded and raised a hand, smirking confidently as she let it drop.

"Begin!"

Wordlessly, the two blondes rushed each other, looking for an opening before striking out. Andy took the initiative and sprung into a flying dropkick as soon as he got close enough to Cammy, and managed to catch her off guard with the unorthodox movement, catching her straight in the solar plexus and flooring her while he landed. He didn't stop there, either – with a short hop, he was above Cammy's body, and well-positioned to stomp on her shoulder.

Cammy felt the bone dislocate itself under the pressure and flinched noticeably; Andy, realizing what he'd done, quickly backed up to give her a chance to recover; when she did get back to her feet, she glared at him irately, then grunted something under her breath and popped her shoulder back into place, hissing angrily as she felt something familiar start to burn within her arms and legs.

_Any moment now, it'll start coming out, _she thought angrily._ I've got to try and calm down or I might put one of these blighters in traction._

She sprang forward with a quick somersault, curling herself into a ball as she flew at Andy; despite the speed of her attack, Andy had managed to see it coming and rolled forward right as she reached the apex of her jump. However, he hadn't escaped as easily as he thought, as she suddenly uncurled herself while he was still under her and shot down at him like a rocket, one leg outstretched and covered in a purplish-bluish-white aura that vaguely resembled flames, and pinned him to the ground.

Up in the stands, a woman with short strawberry blonde hair plunked herself down next to März, a soda and hot dog in hand. She was joined immediately afterwards by a stoic-looking brunette with two long forelocks framing her face and a short cut in the back. März merely smiled at both of them and asked the first, "What took you so long, Juni?"

"Hey, it takes time to get a good hot dog," Juni replied defensively, scowling playfully at her teammate.

"And I didn't let her teleport to the front of the line," the brunette added flatly. "She ALMOST managed it, but you know me…."

Giggling, März lightly squeezed the woman's shoulder. "Thank you for keeping the peace as always, Juli."

"Satsuki and Fév better hurry up and get back," mumbled Juni around a mouthful of hot dog. "Cammy's broken out the Psycho Power."

"More like it broke out of her," Juli said, critically examining Cammy to confirm what Juni had asserted. "You know she holds it back when she's fighting regular people."

"Yeah…but ninjas are hardly regular, are they?"

Down on the arena floor, Andy was proving Juni's comment to be true, as he tossed a smoke bomb and covered the place in a gray cloud.

_Now I've got you, _he thought triumphantly. _Never underestimate a shinobi, even if you're a secret agent!_

Grinning, he began to throw a flurry of punches in the cover, exactly as he planned. Since he was standing right behind Cammy now, there was no way she could block or dodge any of his next attacks, which meant that the match was already won.

To his surprise, his first attack was blocked easily. As was his second, and his third, and his fourth. Grunting, he tried for a fifth punch, but his fist was caught and ensnared instantly.

"Wh-What?! How is this possible?"

_Super-enhanced reflexes and senses save the day again, _Cammy thought wryly as she gripped Andy's fist even tighter. _Even with obstacles like this…his attacks are just too slow now. _

"Try to break out and your hand is mush," she said calmly, eliciting a shiver from Andy at the ice-cold tone in her voice. "I'm not going to finish you in conditions like this."

When the field became clear again, Andy was still in his rather difficult position, while Cammy had shifted her grip to his forearm, and was staring him dead in the face, her crystal blue eyes ablaze like hellfire.

"And now, I can end this…."

She let his arm go with a flick of her wrist, and ducked into a low crouch before corkscrewing forward, legs straight as an arrow – in other words, she'd become a human drill. Andy couldn't even manage to dodge the attack, stumbled forward after the last hit connected…and had the wind knocked out of him when Cammy dug a foot into his stomach and leapt upwards, ascending into the heavens foot first with the same flaming aura around her body.

When she broke away from him in mid-air, the flames continued to swirl around Andy until he hit the ground, unconscious. In contrast, the aura itself stripped away from Cammy like a dandelion on the wind, and she landed lightly on the ground, her entire body relaxed and calm.

* * *

"Spin Drive Smasher…." Chun-Li murmured as she repositioned herself on the bench. She frowned slightly as Athena finished her psychic healing treatment; her body, especially her face, was still sore from Maki's final blow. "With…that power, no less."

Kensou, in the middle of eating a pork bun, swallowed the dough and meat in his mouth with unusual decorum and asked, "…You mean that flame-like stuff? It's Psycho Power, isn't it?"

Startled, Chun-Li snapped her head around to look sharply at Kensou, eyes blazing. "Wait, what? You know about Psycho Power?!"

"I use it," Athena replied. "Mine isn't quite the same as hers, but they _feel _very similar. That's how Kensou figured it out."

Mary shifted her gaze between the Psycho Duet and her teammate with some unease, and finally asked, "Does anyone mind clueing me in here, or am I just going to sit in the dark on this one?"

"It's not my story to tell," Chun-Li said, her expression slowly shifting into a pensive, yet serious, frown. "Once the match is over, ask Cammy. If she feels like it, she'll explain."

The blonde Sambo mistress blinked, confused by how Chun-Li seemed to dismiss the topic so lightly. "If she feels like it, you say? Well, what if she doesn't?"

"Then you'll just have to wait 'till she does."

Cammy could feel Mary's eyes locked on her back, but didn't – and couldn't – stop to turn and look at her teammate, because Mai was already in the ring, brandishing two fans and looking very displeased.

"How dare you manhandle my Andy? You'll pay now!" the brunette ninja snapped as she glared hatefully at Cammy. "Prepare _gaijin! _The wrath of the Shiranui will descend upon you now!"

"Shut up already, ninja-tart, and fight!" Cammy retorted, her patience stretched beyond bone-thin.

Mature was impressed by the brunette's rage and the blonde's total lack of patience – far too impressed to start the match, so Vice stepped in and gave the sign for the two women to tear into each other.

Mai started things off with a vertical fan strike, which Cammy intercepted with a sharp jab to the face. To follow up, the blonde secret agent struck Mai's wrist, causing it to go limp and release the fan. Mai, now completely defenseless, was thusly unable to stop Cammy's final attack – the blonde spun around, with a short hop forward, to strike Mai's ribs with her elbow, and then extended her fist, backhanding Mai in the stomach. This aptly timed Spin Knuckle sent Mai flying, and a rush of adrenaline – and Psycho Power – nearly forced Cammy's body to follow after her.

However, she restrained herself (mostly because she didn't want to end the fight quickly, and partially because she didn't want to end the fight by turning Mai into a squishy wad of goo), and that gave Mai enough time to link a forward flip to a diving head-butt, connecting with Cammy's stomach. The blonde fell onto her back with a pained grunt and slid back a few feet, and by the time she struggled into a crouch, Mai was flying at her again, elbow outstretched, while screaming "Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi". Instinctively, Cammy managed to turn aside the elbow attack and counter with a Psycho-Powered punch that put a good bit of distance between her and Mai.

Seething, the busty brunette blocked out the pain with a deep breath, then tossed several whirling fans; Cammy smacked away three of them, only to be hit in the ribs by a hidden fourth. At that moment, Mai tossed out another trio of fans, all at different heights and with twice the force of the previous attacks, and then rolled into another Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi.

This time, though, she was literally on fire – a huge mass of it preceded and followed her attack, and she was grinning madly, to boot.

"It's over now! Face Shiranui's power and fall into despair!"

Everything slowed down at that moment for Cammy, and she knew she had two options: continue playing nice and lose the match, or let it all out and completely crush Mai.

She didn't even spend two seconds to consider her next move.

Psycho Power flared out of every pore of her body as she finally stopped restraining its flow, and her arms lashed out to violently knock the three fans off course. Mai's eyes widened in fear of this display, but she still believed that with the amount of momentum she had going, Cammy couldn't even come close to stopping her.

Ordinarily, she would have been right. But with the Psycho Power pulsing through her limbs, Cammy was nowhere near ordinary anymore. Casually, the blonde drew back her fist and delivered a full-power underhand punch directly to Mai's chest, between her breasts. The woman coughed briefly in surprise before rocketing backwards in a red-and-white spiral of anguish, landing well outside of the ring and breaking one of the benches with her entire body.

The entire stadium became as quiet as a graveyard, while Cammy stared almost blankly at Mai's unconscious body, then slowly directed her head up to the audience. Her eyes and face, especially once they were enlarged on the Jumbotron, seemed almost completely soulless, full of icy impassivity that no human could possibly possess.

Finally, she blinked owlishly, then turned to her teammates, walked over, and sat down on the bench next to Chun-Li, staring mutely into space as she breathed rhythmically to suppress the Psycho Power.

In the quiet, almost oppressive silence, the big screen displayed its final words regarding the bout:

* * *

_Match 1: The Justice Team vs. The Shinobi Alliance_

_The Justice Team Wins, 4-2._

_Two points awarded to each team for Double Knockouts in Rounds 1 and 2._

_Two points awarded to The Justice team for 2 TKOs._

_Top Fighter: Cammy White (2 TKOs)_

_

* * *

_

Author's Notes: Damn, this one was a doozy. 22 pages in Microsoft Word….

Not much to say this time out. But if you want update info and the like, check out my Twitter page: www./zerosennin/

It updates infrequently, because I never remember to use the damn thing, but it'll alleviate the nail-biting.

Next chapter: _Cammy comes under heavy interrogative fire about her unknown powers as the next two teams step up to the plate. With only two members instead of three on one side, the matchup looks to be even, but is it really going to be that simple?_

Until the next engagement,

~ZS, the Reploid Hermit


	17. 0079 Ways: Team K' vs the Beat Crusaders

The King of Street Fighters

A King of Fighters/Street Fighter Crossover

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 17: 0079 Ways – Team K' vs. the Beat Crusaders

* * *

After Mai was rushed to the medical ward, another short intermission was declared – mostly to let the audience's nerves settle and not to stall for the next matchup. As soon as the majority of the crowd filed out, Iori walked over to the Justice Team and sat down on the bench next to Cammy, directing his gaze forward just like she was.

"You all right?" he asked brusquely.

"Fine," she replied.

"Don't look it."

"Well, I **am.**"

Truthfully, she really wasn't all right. The chills and thrills of the power were still pumping through her, even though it wasn't projecting itself anymore – that alone was putting her on edge.

Mary looked over to Cammy, worried about her fellow blonde's current state of mind, and was about to crack some sort of joke to help her feel better. However, that plan was thrown wildly off course when Juni suddenly approached the bench from the rear, holding a can of Pepsi. Chun-Li wasn't surprised in the slightest, but Iori, Mary, Kensou, and Athena were noticeably more shocked.

"H-Hey, where'd you come from?" Mary spluttered.

"Here you go, Cams," the strawberry-blonde said soothingly, pressing the can into Cammy's shoulder to get her attention, ignoring Mary's shock. "Pepsi, ice cold, just the way you like it."

Cammy put her hand up to take the can, and Juni pressed it into her palm. The Brit immediately brought the can to chest level, punched the tab into the top, and took at least three long gulps before setting the can down next to her foot and sighing deeply.

"Did März send you down here, Juni?"

The girl cocked her head. "Yeah, she did. And? You got a problem with that?"

"Of course not – I just thought she'd have more sense than to let you teleport down here in front of so many people. There are cameras around here, you know."

"I know. That's why I jumped to a blind spot. We've done our research on this stadium -you know, just in case."

Cammy let a crooked grin spread across her face. "Without having to be ordered, too…. Jove, you lot really are growing up, aren't you."

Mary cleared her throat noisily and "OK, excuse me, does someone mind telling me what the hell is going on here with this girl?"

"I'm a member of Delta Red's A.S.R.T. unit. Cammy's my boss," the girl in question replied. "All the members of A.S.R.T. have history with her. I'd explain, but if I did…."

"…we'd be here forever," Cammy finished.

"But you said something about teleporting. Regular people just can't…you know, translocate themselves or whatever!"

"IT'S A LONG STORY!" Cammy and Juni snapped at her in tandem.

Mary wilted and nodded quietly, surprised by the force of their reply.

"Nice one," Iori remarked languidly, a small grin on his face. "Keep it up and you'll be rivaling me in terms of sheer ass-holery."

"Shut up, you stupid wanker!"

Ken, noticing their argument from afar, chuckled and elbowed Ryu and Kyo. "There they go again, boys. Place your bets now!"

"Pass," Ryu said simply.

"Same," replied Kyo.

"Hey, come on! You guys are no fun!"

Nearby, Team K' was watching both spectacles.

"See, Kula, I told you those guys were a bunch of crazies," K' muttered, eyes sharp behind his sunglasses.

"K-niichan, I think you're not being fair," the chestnut-haired girl replied, pouting cutely. "They're nice people, I think. I wanna go talk to the pigtailed lady, she's really cool. You know, with the awesome fire-like stuff and everything, she really kicked butt!"

"Yagami's hanging around her, kid," Maxima said sternly. "Can't let you near him, he's a wild card."

"But, but!"

K' sighed and looked away as Kula began to pound her fists into Maxima's beefy chest, wailing obnoxiously, only to look up when Mature caught his attention, walking up to him and saying the words he'd been waiting to hear (even if he wouldn't admit that he'd been waiting for them).

"They've done the drawing, K'. Your team's up against the Beat Crusaders. We'll make the announcement soon."

He nodded coolly, adjusting his sunglasses with a slight movement of his hand, as his assent, and Mature walked off. Shortly afterwards, Kula walked over and glomped him around the waist, smiling.

"What did that spooky lady tell you, K-niichan? Huh?"

"Quit callin' me that," he mumbled tiredly. "You ain't Japanese anyway, and it's kind of annoying."

Kula pouted again, and poked him pointedly in the back. "Don't make me freeze you, niichan," she said half-seriously. "If you must know, Diana taught me a little of it. She likes it in Japan, she says."

"Yeah, well, stop calling me that. I ain't your brother."

Silently, Kula withdrew from him, feeling hurt, and instantly, he felt his conscience kick him in the ass for being an ass. He quashed the feeling pretty quickly, though, and answered her question point-blank.

"We're fighting next. Get ready. Tell Maxima he's sitting this one out."

Her tone was subdued, almost sad, when she replied. "OK."

As she walked away, he finally gave in to what his conscience was telling him to do, and looked over his shoulder at her, taking his sunglasses off and putting them in his 'special storage spot' inside his leather jumpsuit.

"Hey. Kula."

She stopped and turned. "Yes?"

"You can call me…big brother…if you really want to."

Her eyes lit up instantly, and she smiled, nodded, and bounced over to Maxima to pass along the message she'd been given. K' groaned again and rubbed his forehead.

_Women…._

_

* * *

_

The spectators began to flock back to their seats shortly after K''s little apology, and Juni straightened up when she realized that the cameras would soon be focusing on the fighters she stood amongst.

"All right, Cams, I'm gone," she said cheerfully. "Say, do you know any good hotels around here? We got in maybe two, three hours ago, and just hung around town until the event started."

"Well, you might be able to stay with us," Cammy mused. "I'm not sure, though, if our host would be so gracious as to allow that."

"Are you kidding me?" asked Iori sarcastically. "If you get a dictionary and look up 'gracious', 'charitable', 'kind-hearted', 'honest-to-a-fault', and 'self-sacrificing', you'll have enough pictures of Kagura to fill a jumbo-size scrapbook. It'll be fine if we just bring them along in the limo."

"Well, **some of us **like to actually like to be polite, Yagami," the blonde shot back. "So we'll ASK like any civilized being would, instead of rudely imposing!"

Juni could see that this was much bigger than an argument on civility, and smiled craftily, as she often did. "Cams, you shouldn't flirt with bad boys if you've got the hots for them. Bedding them works much better than that old approach."

Cammy rounded on Juni with an expression of absolute outrage on her face, but before she could reach for her friend's throat, the girl vanished instantly, laughing heartily at her commander's frustration.

"That damn little…."

Kensou looked up at the Jumbotron and smiled. "Hey, the next matchup is showing! Team K'…versus the Beat Crusaders!"

All eyes snapped to the ring, where K' stood, partially slouched as usual, opposite of Dee Jay. Ringside, Maxima was staring with uncharacteristic frustration at his teammate, while Kula sat on the Canadian giant's shoulder, humming to herself.

"Hey! What's the big idea, making me last string?" he asked K' angrily. "If these guys were to beat you and Kula easily, you can't possibly expect me to pick up your slack! At least let me go in for you if you lose!"

"You took my match in the prelims. This is payback."

"But you never said you wanted to fight then!"

"I did, actually. You were probably too busy surfing the internet again to hear me, and so you just cut me off when I was getting ready to get into the ring."

Maxima looked chagrined and glared off to the side, embarrassed. "No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were~~~" Kula said cheerily, mouth full of lollipop. "You told me you were checking out the latest computer hardware when I asked."

"D-Damn it, Kula! Why'd you go and say that?!"

K' smirked, rolled his shoulders, and entered his stance, focusing completely on Dee Jay. "Besides, I've got this. It'll be over way too quickly. I'm more than enough."

"You'd better be quick on your feet then, mon," Dee Jay replied with a grin, his words peppered with his tell-tale Jamaican accent. "When the rhythm starts, I get crazy, you know?'

"All right, here we go!" Vice called into her microphone, seeing that most of the crowd had come back (and impatient to start the show to collect more fighters' energy). "Here's the first round of the second match – K' vs. Dee Jay!" She whipped her arm in a circle and pointed upwards, then dropped her hand in a smooth chop.

"BEGIN!"

* * *

Dee Jay ducked forward and summoned a small wave of energy with a short uppercut. K' responded by flinging his hand up, as if he were making an under-hand toss. A halo of flame swirled in the air before him, canceling out Dee Jay's attack; the white-haired youth followed up by kicking the flames, creating a fireball that surged forward and struck Dee Jay in the chest.

When the Jamaican fighter reeled back in pain, K' dashed into close range, nailed him with two jabs, then bent his knees, jumped, and swung his foot forward, hitting Dee Jay in the jaw and knocking him into the air. The man spun around like a top continuously, until he hit the ground back-first and stayed there for a few moments.

K' cocked his head quizzically. "Hey, you done?" he asked dryly. "I don't like it when people keep me waiting."

"Sorry, sorry," grunted Dee Jay. "Give a brudda a minute, eh?"

Slowly, the man pulled himself off the ground, wincing as he massaged a sore spot on his back.

"Good, you're still moving," K' said, allowing some excitement to enter his normally bored tone. "Come and get it."

Dee Jay's grin leapt back onto his face before he jumped forward, unleashing two powerful side kicks as he came close to K'. With a bored grunt, K' stepped to the side, slid in, and clenched his ungloved hand into a fist, preparing a short-range One-Inch Punch that would blow Dee Jay away hard. Fortunately (or perhaps not), Dee Jay grabbed K''s hand and held him close enough to strike the leather-clad man in the stomach, then the face, before using an elbow to nail the opposite side of his face and knock him down.

"K-niichaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Kula yelled as her friend and brother figure hit the ground hard. "K-niichan, are you OK?!"

_Is that Kula screaming for me? _K' thought to himself dazedly. _Damn it, what did that guy do to me…? Ugh, I can't think straight with this pain pounding in my skull…._

"You got no rhythm, brudda," Dee Jay said with a sigh. "Damn shame, you know. I thought you were going to give me a good fight!"

Kula childishly stomped on the floor and glared at K'. "K-niichan, you'd better not lose! You'd better get up now and win, or else I'll freeze your underwear!"

K' groaned, not just at the pain pulsing though his skull, but also at Kula's dangerously credible threat (despite its apparent silliness).

…_Why do I hang out with her more than I do with my sister?_

"HEY! K'! GET YOUR ASS UP OR VOODOO WILL CUT IT INTO GODDAMNED RIBBONS!"

Whip's fiery voice cut through K''s fog almost instantly, and he pulled himself up, nursing the bruise on his cheek with a tired grimace.

_Oh, right, that's why…. At least I can defrost frozen boxer briefs. Trying to fuse pieces of my ass back on with fire probably won't work…._

Dee Jay blinked. "But what is this?! He got back up! Tough nut!"

"Didn't you hear those two?" K' asked flatly. "If I don't kick your ass, mine is either going to be made into mincemeat or a frozen side dish. I don't know about you, but that's not the kind of fate I would wish on the cruelest bastard on the planet."

"True, mon, true. So let's settle this little tizz, then. All or nothing, right now."

K' nodded and pulled out his sunglasses, regarding them idly for a moment, smiled, and tossed them at Dee Jay with a brisk nod, saying, "Here, catch."

The rhythmic fighter's reflexes kicked in as soon as the shades came within reach, and he snatched them out of the air.

Sadly, that was his first and last mistake in the match, for K' slid forward, vanishing in a blur of shadowy moment, only to reappear by elbowing Dee Jay in the chest, followed by a salvo of punches and kicks, each accompanied by a yell of "Ora!"

"Go, K-niichan!" Kula cheered, smiling as she clapped her hands together. "Chain Drive him into the Milky Way!"

K' smirked and ended his attack with a short uppercut, leaving a stunned Dee Jay to stagger for a few moments.

"What's wrong?" he asked tauntingly as he slid backwards, in the same way he'd started the attack.

"Ooh, here it comes," Whip cackled, ignoring the exasperated looks her teammates were giving her (and the rather unnerved glances from the other teams). "Blow it up! BLOW IT UP!"

"Oh, jeezum crimit," Dee Jay groaned in pain, letting the grin on his face dwindle down to a small smile. "This one is going to leave a mark."

At that moment, a loud, explosive roar burst from K''s gloved hand as he charged forward, engulfing Dee Jay in a wave of fire. The Jamaican fighter flew into the air, his body limp as his hand released K''s sunglasses. Cool as a cucumber, K' snapped his hand up, catching the eyewear quite easily, and opened it up, sliding them gently onto his face and stretching his smirk into a grin.

"You can't even touch me," he muttered as he walked off the stage and back over to Kula and Maxima, using his slouch and shuffle to mask the pain he felt from his falls and the hits he'd taken. "Sad, man."

"Good job, niichan," Kula said proudly. "I really wasn't gonna freeze your undies, though, I was just trying to get you serious." She frowned and ran a hand over K''s face. "You're hurt. I'll go in next so you can rest."

"I'm fine," he began to reply, but before he could finish, Kula put a hand over his mouth and gave him a stern pout.

"No, no, I won't hear it," she said sternly, the edges of her brown hair slowly turning into a more familiar shade of icy light blue. "We trained together for a reason, niichan. So I won't even _let_ you stop me."

_Dammit, Kula, _K' thought tiredly._ If you stay this stubborn when you start dating, you're going to be home alone for most of your teenage years, and I'd rather not have to be the one that has to let you cry on my shoulder._

"OK, we understand each other, then," replied Kula with a nod, her hair fully transformed. "Now, sit."

K' rubbed his forehead, pulled her hand down, and sat onto a nearby bench with a grunt, waving towards the ring with his ungloved hand. Maxima looked as if he wanted to air a protest, but he fell silent when Kula shot a mature, frosty glare directly at him as she stepped into the ring.

Kula's opponent was as white-haired as K' was, but much taller and a bit tanner. Her white, two-piece bikini-like outfit shined radiantly under the light of the stage, and there was a noticeable glint from the bangles around her wrists, ankles, and neck.

"Jambo!" she called to Kula with a smile. "I'm Elena Otowe. Are you ready for a wonderful dance?"

Kula laced her fingers, stretched her arms out, and smiled impishly as she entered a stance that was noticeably inspired by K''s; instead of simply holding her hands at her sides, her back was turned to the cameras, one arm extended down and out while the other was bent at her midriff. She bounced back and forth on the tips of her toes, watching Elena with guarded eyes as thin halos of ice shimmered around her body.

"Dancing is pretty fun," she said. "I'm not too good at it, though, I'm a little clumsy. I hope you don't mind."

Elena smiled. "What matters is that you do your best. So…let's see how your soul leads you to move!"

Mature smiled and gave a nod as her sign. "Kula Diamond. Elena Otowe. When you wish to do so, begin."

* * *

Elena's knees bent and she began to sway back and forth, dancing lithely. Kula's eyes followed as best they could, but it was obvious from the way she blinked now and then that she wasn't able to fully track the dancer's body movement. For a few minutes, they circled around the ring, watching each other carefully, awaiting the proper moment to strike as they edged closer and closer to each other.

Finally, they came within a foot or two of each other, and Kula made her move, raising a hand to her mouth, palm-up, and blowing a gust of cold wind at Elena's legs and feet which generated visible ice.

Quickly, Elena sidestepped, noting with interest (and some shock) that when the attack hit the ground, a thin, but large, coat of ice formed instantly.

_Oh, dear. If that hits me, I may be able to escape, but…I may not be able to do it before she takes her finishing steps. Even with my long reach, I won't be able to stay at a range where I can strike back without fear. So…! I'll have to attack!_

Immediately, Elena whipped her legs into motion, into a forward somersault, and dropped her heels onto Kula's head – or at least attempted to. Despite the speed of the attack, Kula managed to summon a thin, but sturdy, rectangle of ice with only one hand. However, there was a noticeable crack in the makeshift shield, spreading out like a spider's web from the spot where Elena's feet made contact, and Kula had to push against Elena with all her strength to force the African princess backward.

_Wow, her legs are so strong!_ Kula thought. _REALLY strong! I might be in trouble…!_

Elena didn't let Kula's rebuff stop her from attacking again – this time, with a short step forward followed by a series of high and low kicks. Grunting, Kula put more strength into her ice shield and shifted it up and down, rather rapidly at that, blocking most of the blows but straining her defense even more.

Realizing that she didn't have much longer, Kula quickly freed up one of her hands and used a One-Inch, just like K' had attempted against Dee Jay. Luckily, she made contact; unluckily, it was a glancing blow at best, so it pushed Elena without knocking her on her back. This was mitigated by the fact that Kula quickly dropped into a crouch and kicked her opponent in the shin, channeling cryogenic power into her foot to numb up Elena's leg.

_She even uses her own body as a medium…. Her power is…astounding…!_

"Sorry, but this is it," Kula declared proudly, coating a fist in ice and preparing to nail Elena with an uppercut to the jaw. "Anything you have to say?"

"Not quite," the princess replied as she leaned back gently, trying not to move her semi-frozen leg too much; involuntarily, she felt herself shiver as the icy-cold sphere around Kula's hand passed in front of her face. Shifting her weight to her numbed leg, she pushed herself forward again, bending her other leg to knee Kula in the stomach.

Kula couldn't restrain a yelp of pain, and fell to one knee, allowing Elena precious moments to retreat. She held her hands up, and their palms glowed calmly before pressing them to her numbed leg. In the space of a few moments, she was fully mobile, dancing about lightly as usual while Kula struggled back into a standing position.

"Hey, you can heal yourself?" the girl asked incredulously, rubbing her injury tenderly. "That's so cool…."

_But now you have to kick the crap out of her twice as hard to overcome it, _her much more mature, cynical fighter's mind reminded her. _Have fun doing that._

Ignoring herself, Kula reassumed her stance and went on the attack again, stretching out her leg and twirling around like a ballerina. Elena, in a rare move, used a hand to block and redirect the girl, but wasn't quite fast enough to block what came next; Kula landed rather gracefully, using the momentum from her spin to turn to Elena, connecting with a powerful upward axe kick. The light blue trail of ice following the attack expanded violently after contact, lightly frosting up Elena's chest, shoulders, and kneecaps while causing a deeper sense of numbness to settle into them.

_That was unexpected, _Elena thought as she rolled with the attack, slightly awed by the girl's power but not exactly frightened by the possibly that she could lose. _If my legs are numbed like this, then Dee Jay and I are not advancing to the next round. Healing wouldn't be able to remove it in time…._

Experimentally, she moved one of her shoulders back, stiffening as she realized how much slower her body reacted. Kula read her expression perfectly and smiled as she took a step forward, ice accumulating in her right hand.

"Here we go…get ready!"

More ice formed on the soles of Kula's shoes, molding into a makeshift pair of ice skates, and she glided forward, the ball of ice growing ever larger. On the sidelines, K' allowed himself yet another smirk, recognizing what she was about to do, and mouthed the name of her attack while she yelled it aloud.

"Frost Drive!"

Elena quickly realized the nature of the attack, to some extent – the ice ball would most likely explode on contact with her body and numb her into total surrender. Instead of allowing that, she took a deep breath, tensing her knees despite their lowered responsiveness, and waited for the short window she would have to counter Kula's attack…which came when the girl was within striking distance, extending her drawn-back arm.

At that moment, Elena willed all her strength into her powerful legs, and struck with another powerful reverse somersault, hitting Kula on the chin…followed by two more of the same attack, each taking her higher up than the last and striking multiple times.

"SPINNING BEAAAAAAAT!"

Dee Jay, who had made a surprisingly speedy recovery, leapt up from his place at the sidelines and let out a huge whoop. "Dat's de way, Elena! Show her what you got!"

The blow did send Kula's thin frame flipping about, but she was determined to win and show K' that her training with him had been worthwhile; she gripped the sphere even more tightly as Elena's ankles raked up her body. Once the last hit had been delivered, Kula waited until her body came upright for a brief moment, and threw the sphere when she had the clearest shot possible (ironically using Elena's last-ditch strategy against her) , striking the African girl in mid-recovery and smiling in satisfaction as her opponent was covered in sleet before she hit the ground.

"She thinks fast," Maxima said with a mildly surprised expression on his face as Kula stuck her landing about a foot in front of him.

"I trained her, dumbass," K' replied. "Of course she does. You think I would bother training someone without the skill to adapt to situations when they go south?"

Kula overheard him and gave him a _very _meaningful look, rubbing her ribs where she'd taken one of Elena's rougher kicks. "Of course, me being me, K-niichan, you'd be training me anyway. Or I'd make sure that your bed had a nice lining of ice every night for the rest of your life."

Despite himself, K' felt a drop of sweat inch down his face and looked away from Kula as the board displayed the match results.

_Diana and Foxy are the worst parents ever, _his brain decided.

_Match 2: Team K' vs. The Beat Crusaders_

_Team K' wins, 2-0._

_Two points awarded to Team K' for two TKOs._

_Top Fighter: Not applicable this match._

_

* * *

_

Hey, people. Sorry, I had a pretty busy summer and tenuous Net access. I've had some reviewers make note of Cammy's power level in Ch. 16, and I assure you that while it did go into over 9000 territory for a while (or at least felt that way for some), that won't be happening again. My personal rationale is that Cammy, being a well-trained assassin with a genetically-enhanced body and some degree of supernatural power, would be a match for ninjas, but I may have unintentionally pushed Willing Suspension of Disbelief there.

Next chapter: _The obligatory 'hot-spring' episode, in which the guys and girls get some things off their chests. Weeping, shy blushes, and more will abound, but will Character Development make its appearance as well?_

_Also, Team Evil begins to analyze their situation and just how well the major players are factoring into it…. Who __**is**__ helping out Mukai and Those from the Past with this scheme, anyway?_

Thanks to everyone for their constructive observations! They help me fix my more annoying mistakes and give everyone a better story to read, and I really like doing both of those things.

Till the next engagement,

~ZS

PS: Should I keep rendering Dee Jay's accent the way I am or what? (I've been to Jamaica a few times and am pretty familiar with Patois, but it's not easy to convey in writing, so all inaccuracies or silliness are on me.)


	18. Where There's Onsen, Madness Follows

The King of Street Fighters

A SF/KoF fanfic

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 18 – Where there's _Onsen, _Madness Follows

* * *

(A/N: I may have caused a bit of a snarl with the time continuity due to lack of foresight. If you're confused, re-read Chapter 12 for the corrections I made to sync things up properly.)

* * *

As a fully-frosted Elena was hauled from the ring on a trolley, the ten remaining teams gathered on the stage, as they were instructed, where Mature and Vice addressed them all at once.

"OK, people, listen up," Mature began, mike at her mouth as per usual. "It's Sunday now, and the good part won't start until Tuesday. By then, we'll have eight teams left, since we've got two more matches tomorrow. That being said, we expect you back here at around the same time Monday evening, and by noon Tuesday."

"Take it easy in the meantime, though," Vice added. "After all, this is as much a vacation as it is a heated competition."

"And with that, we bid everyone _adieu_ for the evening," both women said, raising their voices to address the audience directly. "Thanks for coming out, everyone, and we'll see you tomorrow!"

The crowd buzz grew as everyone began to make their way out, and the teams split into their 'groups': Ansatsuken, the Justice Team, and the Cherry Blossom Brigade went off to one side, Team K' and the Ikari Warriors to another; the rest continued to head out of the arena.

"OK, I need a favor," Cammy said as soon as everyone was gathered. "Kyo, call up Chizuru and ask her if she's willing to let a few more people stay with us."

"How many exactly?" Kyo asked as he pulled out his phone.

"Five," Juni's voice replied from behind him, causing everyone (except Cammy and Chun-Li) to jump as they realized that the strawberry-blonde and the others had just appeared from nowhere. "_Danke schön!_"

Chun-Li put a hand to her forehead. "You're going to have to stop doing that, Juni. We're not exactly the calmest sort here, you know that? It took _me_ long enough to get used to that weird trick of yours, and I'd rather not repeat the process some ten times over."

Juli smacked the back of Juni's head and blew a forelock out of her face. "I'm afraid we'll have to. She's taken to practical jokes recently."

Juni returned the smack with a kick to Juli's shin, and in less than two seconds, the two were pulling each other's cheeks and hurling taunts back and forth. Cammy groaned tiredly, and said aloud, "Everyone, these girls are my Delta Red A.S.R.T. team, initially formed to fight against Shadowloo." She gestured at Juni and Juli first. "Juni's the blonde, Juli's the brunette. They're both from Germany, supposedly, but records are a bit sketchy."

März looked down momentarily, a shy blush on her face as her square-cut bangs moved into place over her eyes. "…I'm März, also of Germany. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Shingo grinned broadly at the girl, though he did his best to make it look friendly and not necessarily lustful. _"Sweet, she's got a hime cut! And it's short in the back, too! Just my type of hairstyle…."_

He 'thought' so enthusiastically that März's telepathy picked up on it, and she looked at him curiously. "You…really think I'm cute, Shingo-san…?" she asked with picture-perfect hesitance, purposely increasing her blush.

The poor boy's face went red as a beet, and he ducked his head suddenly before charging off. "SORRY GOTTA GO TO THE BATHROOM BE BACK SOON!"

She snickered while everyone (again, Cammy and Chun-Li excepted) stared at her, now sure that Cammy's friends were much more than they appeared.

"Pardon my playfulness…. You see, I'm a telepath," she explained. "He thought I was cute, and I 'heard' him…. I thought it would be fun to tease him."

"You're a little older than him, though…aren't you?" Mary asked cautiously.

"Just a little. About twenty-four, but since he's close to twenty himself, it looks like I won't have long to wait."

THAT caused everyone to give März a rather odd look, but no one was willing to say anything; in the silence, the tallest of the girls, standing at about 5'7 with pink hair, wearing a dark trench coat over her white T-shirt, smiled broadly. "I'm Février, from France, but you can call me Fév for short. I like to exercise, and I'm really good with guns!"

"And what can you do?" Iori asked dryly. "Make fancy fairy sparkles?"

Without even blinking, Fév brought a gun up from nowhere and fired at Iori's face; despite the bullet's speed, it was clear that it was no normal round, as it made practically no sound when it left the barrel, had an odd glow around it, and it stopped in midair right in front of him, at which point everyone could see that the bullet was made of solid energy.

"Well, I guess you could call it that," she said, the smile never wavering as she returned her gun to her coat. "What do you think?"

Iori said nothing, but a single drop of sweat could be seen sliding down the side of his face.

"That's exactly what I thought you would say."

Finally, the black-haired woman, wearing a miniskirt and dark shirt, with forelocks similar to Juli's but noticeably shorter, bowed deeply,

"This humble one is named Satsuki," she murmured quietly. "Please treat me kindly."

"Japanese, are you?" Ken remarked. "What's your specialty?"

"_Kenjutsu._"

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "And your _other_ specialty is…?"

"…I can make almost anything sharp."

She pulled a pencil out and threw it at the ground point-first; to almost everyone's shock, instead of breaking on contact, it neatly sunk at least a foot into the linoleum.

"Really sharp," she amended with a small smile. "Everyone calls them 'psychic blade extensions'."

Kyo, still on the phone, nodded once or twice as Chizuru asked him a question. "Yes, they're '_reputable_ young ladies', Cammy can vouch for that…. No, I'm not saying that just to get you to stop talking…. Hey, I DO NOT do that all the time! Stop telling such blatant lies!"

He winced as Chizuru told him rather sharply that _'I never lie, exaggerate, or even slightly embellish anything'_ in a very un-Chizuru-like manner, and rubbed the side of his head. "OK, OK, I'm sorry. I take it back. Now, can you do this or not?"

'_Yes, I can; the proper question is whether or not I will do it.'_

"Oh, for the love of...Fine. _WILL_ you do it?"

'_Yes, I will; I'll send an extra car along to accommodate them - the limo was full with all of you alone. Be ready – you can expect them in ten minutes at most.'_

"Thanks, Chizuru."

She smiled gently. _'You're welcome. See you soon.'_

Kyo rolled his eyes, snapped his cellphone shut, and turned his attention back to the group. "Chizuru says she's fine with the girls coming along, but they'll have to ride separate for the trip back to the estate – not enough room for them in the limo."

"Oh, no fair," Juni said with a pout, finally free of her entanglement with Juli. "I wanted to get to know you guys better. You seem like a lot of fun!"

"Then join us in the _onsen_," Chun-Li replied. "We'll be in there probably every night anyway."

"Sounds wonderful," murmured Juli, rubbing a sore spot on her face that Juni had been pinching for a bit too long. "I haven't soaked in anything like that before...."

"It's heavenly, just heavenly," Fév sighed with happiness. "You'll love it. I was lucky enough to visit hot springs once, and while it's not exactly the same as an _onsen_...."

Out of politeness, mostly everyone clustered around her to listen to the rest of the story. Cammy and Iori moved away from them, in separate directions - she went to lean against the arena wall, preoccupied with thoughts of her fight again, and he just took a few steps away and turned his back, as he didn't care to listen (as always). Seeing an opportunity, Athena briskly walked over to Cammy with a smile on her face.

"May I talk to you for a second?"

Cammy looked at her somewhat tiredly. "About what, exactly?"

"Those flames of yours. They're Psycho Power flames, aren't they?"

The Brit's eyes narrowed reflexively, and she gave Athena her patented sharp glare. "And if they are?"

"I didn't mean anything bad by it," the idol said hastily, blushing a bit in shame when she heard the sharp reproof in Cammy's voice. "I was asking because...I think I can help you refine your control, if you would like."

Cammy's eyebrow raised up, and she cocked her head to the side. Though her 'psychic senses' were barely existent (due in no small part to her unrefined control of Psycho Power), she knew, not only from observing Athena's earlier battle but also from...some feeling she was getting just now, that the girl was well trained, and really could teach her a thing or two. Still, she couldn't just leap at the chance -- desperation didn't suit secret agents.

"Well, it all sounds dandy. The question is, how are we going to do this?"

"We do have free time before and after the tournament, you know. Kensou and I can stop by Kagura-san's estate and help you out."

_Definitely could work, _Cammy admitted to herself. _And she's not an obnoxious sort, so learning from her shouldn't be a big deal._

"Sounds all right to me, but do you know where she lives?"

"Don't worry," Kensou assured her with a grin. "We'll know how to get there."

Cammy was about to ask why when she noticed that Athena was gone. After looking around for a second, she realized that the pop singer had literally tossed herself at Kyo and was badgering him about where Chizuru lived; eventually, Kyo pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and gave it to her so that she could talk to Chizuru herself.

"And that's why, I suppose," she responded. "How do they know each other?"

"Athena used to have a crush on him. As it happens, though, he's already got someone."

Cammy noticed Kensou's grin fade to a small smile as he watched Athena, and she quickly put two and two together. "You've got a crush, do you? How sweet...."

Kensou's face looked as if all the blood vessels in it had burst open at the same time, and he quickly ducked his head. "It's...not like she doesn't know.... We just haven't talked about it."

"Oh, I see. Well, you should be brave, you know? Talk it out with her instead of just putting it off or you'll never forgive yourself." _Sort of what like I'm doing with Yagami, I guess,_ she reluctantly added to herself. _But it's not quite the same...is it...?_

"...I'll try."

Athena chose that moment to flounce back over to them. "Kagura-san agrees! She'll have us brought over to the house starting tomorrow."

"Thank you for doing this," Cammy murmured. "I really do appreciate it."

"We psychic types stick together," the girl replied with a smile before making her way to the exit. "Now come on, Kensou. We've got to get back to the hotel, I'm really bushed."

He saluted playfully and followed after her. "Yes'm."

Cammy watched them go with a small smile on her face, and then turned back to her friends and teammates...now headed for the opposite exit, leaving her behind for no reason whatsoever. Apparently the cars had arrived and no one saw fit to tell her of the fact.

"Oi, you jerks, wait for me!"

"Remind me why we're doing this?" Hinata asked, running a hand through her hair.

Kyo grinned, as did Juni. "Because it's funny."

* * *

All too soon, the group arrived back at the compound; as they came to the front door, Shin and Rin came from inside, calmly as always.

"We shall lead you to the _onsen,_" Rin murmured aloud. "Please, follow us. We have robes and towels already laid out for you."

"I'll join you later, ladies," Chizuru added, stepping to the side. "For now, enjoy yourselves."

Everyone nodded or murmured their assent and followed Shin and Rin through the house, to the dining room, exiting via the doors opposite the entrance; the group emerged onto another patio, with a short flight of stairs that led down to a stone-paved path, and the path continued straight on to a solitary building, surrounded by trees. Once they arrived at the large wooden sliding doors, Shin and Rin stepped forward and slid them apart, revealing a simple room with a tatami-mat floor and two separate doors on the far wall.

"Men to the left, women to the right," Shin said. "Your towels are inside. We'll be in this room so long as you all are here to offer anything you might need."

Ken grinned and jogged over to the men's side. "Thanks, guys." He slid open the door and waved a hand jauntily. "Well, come on everybody, let's party!"

* * *

Within ten minutes, the _onsen _were full on both sides, and lively conversation floated through the air as everyone let the warmth of the water sink into their bones, washing away all the exhaustion and fatigue that had been plaguing everyone since their arrival in the city.

"So, Ryu, " Kyo asked in his best 'evil conspirator' voice. "When are you gonna make a move on that Chun-Li? You shouldn't leave her hanging, man."

"What are you talking about?" Ryu replied, forcibly injecting a helping of 'I-so-don't-like-her, you-asshole' into his tone to hide his embarrassment. "We're just friends, I tell you."

Shingo tutted and shook his head. "We've seen you watching her when no one's looking, Ryu-san. You so like her."

"He does," added Ken with a lopsided grin. "He's just too _shy_ to admit it."

While Ryu continued to deny the fact, his face turning a shade of red only seen on boiled crabs, Iori snorted disdainfully, but said nothing; he knew that one word out of him would probably get Kyo on his case about Cammy. Unfortunately, his non-verbal response was more than enough for his rival to start with him next.

"Hey, Yagami, don't pretend that you're Mr. Cool over there. There is no shame in liking that Cammy chick, man. She's strong and tough, and she doesn't take your crap. You'd make a good couple."

"I don't give crap to people; the world gives me crap. And I don't like her. She's loud. Bossy. Sarcastic. Demanding...."

"...meaning she's just like you," Sean finished. "It sounds like a match made in heaven...."

Under normal circumstances, Iori would have murdered Sean where he stood, flames or no flames -- mockery just pissed him off. Yet...this joking was something that he'd grown to tolerate, not only from Kyo but from these people in general. He didn't know why, but it felt like they were using every trick in the book to draw him into their madness, for the sake of...befriending him.

And he didn't mind that as much as he thought he would have.

Of course, letting the matter slide would have given a hint at his feelings, and he'd be damned if anyone thought he was going soft.

To rectify the situation, Iori took a washbucket and tossed it at Sean; it skipped off his forehead, rather lightly since it hadn't been thrown with any real force...and still knocked him unconscious.

"Now, who else wants to crack jokes?" the redhead asked, allowing only the slightest hint of amusement to enter his tone. "I could use the practice...."

All the guys looked over to Sean, now sinking into the water up to his neck, then at Iori. Silence reigned for a few moments, and then...Ken grinned...before turning to Shingo, knowing that now the irritable Yagami was about as interested as he was going to get in the conversation.

"Shingo, I can't believe you let that März chick embarass you so easily. You've got good taste at least, but you made yourself too obvious."

"Didn't you hear her, man? My face could have been as grouchy and ugly as Iori's and she still would've busted me - she's _psychic_."

Another bucket flew through the air, and in moments Shingo's face was half-submerged in the water.

Ken nodded. "Nice one, Iori."

The redhead cracked his neck and shrugged. "I'd call it a six out of ten."

* * *

März and the other A.S.R.T. members giggled at the antics on the men's side, as it was all too easy for them and the other women to hear what was going on.

"That poor Shingo," the telepath finally managed to say. "I shouldn't have teased him like that. That Masters man is really a bit too much."

"It's his way," replied Chun-Li with a sigh that was filled with equal amounts of relief and irritation. "A good guy to have in your corner, overall, but not the type to have around if you don't deal with jokes well."

"Truthfully, the old Yagami would've been slaughtering them by now," Mary pointed out. "It's odd...."

Satsuki shrugged. "'To get tears to come from a stone is impossible; to get tears to come from one that is like a stone is not.' Mostly because they're not a stone, I suppose, but either way, isn't it possible that he's just softening up?"

"You don't quite understand what I mean. Seriously, when he started in the KoF tournaments, he was focused on burning Kyo to a crisp. Never said a word to anyone and acted a lot like a puppy that got kicked around too much and grew up into a rabid dog just to pay the whole world back. Now, he's just...going along."

"For however short a time, he's been freed from something very cumbrous," Chizuru's voice said; the girls, startled, looked over to the door to see that their hostess had in fact come to join them. It wasn't until she settled into the water herself that she continued. "He bears cursed flames, and as such, has been subject to a fate that I wouldn't wish on Satan himself."

"What kind of fate, exactly?" Cammy asked.

"That is not my place to share. You'll have to ask him, if he's willing to share."

The blonde groaned, but didn't push the issue. _Guess that's just her way of telling me, 'You should talk to him, Cammy'. Someone must have told her about the party when I wasn't paying attention. Or.... _She paled. _Am I __**that**__ obvious? Oh, geez, if someone that doesn't even know me can tell how I feel, then I might as well retire and kip out to the countryside!_

Unaware of Cammy's inner distress, Sakura closed one eye and wiggled her toes. "Well, regardless of whether he's nicer than he was before, I have no complaints," she said. "I trust him."

Hinata nodded her agreement, as did most of the other girls, excepting a skeptical Mary and still-panicked Cammy; seeing this disjunction, Chizuru soon introduced a new topic of discussion with a serenely mischievous smile.

"Who wants to go shopping after the matches tomorrow?"

* * *

The squeal from the women's side rang shrilly through the men's ears, and Iori had to take a moment to restrain a particularly violent curse; being closest to their side, he'd heard everything, including said squeal.

"What was that?!" Ryu sputtered. "You think there's a snake or a rat in the water over there?"

"They're talking about shopping," groaned the redhead, staring down grumpily. "At least, now that they're done...gossiping." _About me, but that's not your business._

"It's a girl thing, man," Ken said after letting of a yawn. "When you start going out with that crazy agent girl, you'll learn."

"...You should stop making statements like that. Or do you think you can dodge a bucket when those two idiots couldn't?"

The blonde raised his hands, bowing his head in mock fear. "I take it back, I take it back!"

Iori smirked at the scene before him, and then, suddenly cocked his head as he overheard something not related to 'the bane of men"; the women were talking about something else now...something _quite _interesting.

"Shadowloo?! You used to be mixed up with those jokers?!" Mary gasped, staring incredulously at the A.S.R.T. team. "There's no way?! How did that happen?"

"Abduction and brainwashing," Février muttered darkly. "Thirteen of us were taken from our families, genetically enhanced and brainwashed...by Bison, that dirty, slime-sucking bastard. For what? To serve as his little killbots, murdering at his discretion, as he willed us. Cammy freed us, but that was only after she became self-aware on one of her own missions."

"And even when we were freed, the machine that she used to do it didn't work perfectly," added Juni. "Our brains got kind of scrambled up -- aside from combat instincts and whatever training we'd received in equipment use or espionage, we couldn't remember a damn thing about Shadowloo, or ourselves -- just our names. Worse, we wound up all over the world, sometimes in our countries of origin, sometimes not."

"So how did all of you hook up again?" Sakura asked.

März pressed a hand to her temple and sighed. "Cammy is...like a beacon for us. It's...difficult to describe it exactly, but the simplest explanation is that to us...she's like the queen bee, and we're the drones. Sort of."

"The machine that I used--the Psycho Drive--freed everyone, but at the same time, I think it kept and modified the old structure built into our brains," Cammy clarified. "In other words, their brains recognize me as their master, the one they have to protect. But since I didn't bind them to me like Bison did, they don't have to stay by me."

"Juni and I were the first ones to find Cammy," said Juli. "We wandered across Europe and met up somewhere near France; at the time, we were still teenagers, and we were taken into foster care. Immediately, we demanded to go west, saying that our family was there, but since we didn't really KNOW who Cammy was, we naturally weren't allowed to go, and we didn't get to England until we were about eighteen. If Juni knew how to teleport back then, she would have been able to get us over, but...well, things were different."

The Brit shook her head with a tired smile, remembering the day. "They gave me a bloody heart attack, just showing up on Delta Red's doorstep, demanding to see 'Master'. I couldn't remember anything either, so just having two girls show up saying, 'Master, master, we've missed you, we've been seeking you forever, please don't leave us again.... It was creepy, to say the absolute least."

"After that, März showed up, then Satsuki, and then Fév. One by one, by hook or crook... we gathered together." Cammy's eyes clouded over slightly now. "With my memory back, I know that there were more of us, but...after Fév came to us, no one else showed up. It may be that their amnesia was much more thorough because of the Psycho Drive, or that...they're dead."

The A.S.R.T. girls knew that Cammy was purposely omitting a certain part of the story, but they knew that there was a good reason for it, and said nothing. Of course, no one noticed that, and another, less comfortable quiet settled over the women's side, until finally, Hinata re-broke the silence.

"I think we've soaked enough for the night, I'm getting kind of wrinkled. Anyone else going to stay?"

Several sloshes of water answered her question; everyone was standing up, wet towels wrapped around their bodies.

"...Well. OK."

* * *

"They're leaving," Iori said. "You guys gonna stay?"

"Nah," Ryu replied. "I'm turning into my least favorite fruit, so I'll go too."

Kyo raised a hand to stop Ryu's movement. "Hey, Ryu, I've got a question. I never really thought about it until now, but...why exactly are we called Team Ansatsuken? I mean, the name 'assassin's fist' doesn't exactly... _fit_ the type of non-lethal fighting you use."

"Ansatsuken is not a fighting style specifically, but rather a collection of nameless fighting styles," Ken explained as he got up. "Our martial arts are derived from one of those styles, tailored into a non-lethal form by our master Gouken. We tried to explain that at the second World Warrior tournament, when we were interviewed for a magazine, but apparently the reporter was sleeping with her eyes open or something, because the article called our style Ansatsuken. We haven't been able to shake the monkey since, so we just go with it."

Kyo laughed and shook his head, rising from the water as well. "Ah, the marvels of mislabeling. Simply wonderful."

* * *

As that party concluded, though, another meeting, far more sinister in purpose, was just beginning.

The Shin Face Team, gathered in their room had a small communications array set up - not much more than a laptop and a rather small satellite dish. However, the dish in question provided a high-level, highly-secure connection that no person on Earth, including two duplicates of Stephen Hawking, could ever figure out. Right now, via conferencing software, two people were utilizing that connection -- one was Mukai, sloe-black skin and glowing eyes such a powerful contrast that Yashiro could feel himself squirming even though the massive man wasn't actually there.

The other was a man with flowing blonde locks and piercing green eyes, displayed on the right half of the split screen. His expression was one of passive arrogance; it was easy to see that he was proud of his power, yet knew better than to flaunt it. Most unusually, half of his face was red, while the other half was blue.

Before either Mukai or this person could speak, a knock came at the door, to the pattern of 'Shave-and-a-Haircut'. Chris silently went to the door and opened it, admitting Mature and Vice inside.

"Could you please take this seriously?" the Orochi-avatar groaned. "Mukai and Gill are already on the line, and you two are late. I'd rather not have either of them get mad at me because you two decided to get lazy."

"Shut up, brat," Vice replied with an undeniably cheerful smile and matching tone of voice. "You're not paying me, you don't tell me what to do."

Of the many, many retorts Chris could have made to that, none would come to his mouth, mostly because all of them would have ensured his painful death via power-bombs and Frankensteiners, accompanied with rasping skulls embedded in pillars of light, full of hyper death and doom. As it happened, though, he was spared the agony of sweating himself into a coma when Mukai cleared his throat.

"_**All right, you six. Quit making noise, and let's get to brass tacks. Mature, Vice. How much energy did you get today?"**_

"About an eighth of the pot, sir," Mature answered. "The crowd's excitement seems to work, but fighters definitely provide far more power."

"By the time we come to the semifinals, I believe we'll have enough power to revive Lord Orochi," added Vice. "No sacrifices necessary!"

_OK, if I hear about that one more time, I will break something in half, I swear to God, Satan, and everyone else in between, _Yashiro shouted mentally. _PLEASE, ONE OF YOU BASTARDS, JUST DO IT. I DARE YOU._

"_**Wind... Have you or your teammates been...harassed by the Ikari Warriors?"**_

"No, sir, we have not," the blonde replied calmly, her face passive as usual. "They've been quiet enough -- they do suspect us, no doubt, but we have given them nothing to act on."

Gill cleared his throat before inserting himself into the conversation. _"If I may be so bold, madam, I would like to request a small favor. Kindly beware of the team with the former Chinese Interpol officer -- Chun-Li, I believe. She still has connections with law enforcement, and given our history, I do not doubt that she would use all of those resources to bring me down were she to discover my involvement with this tournament."_

Wind bowed at the waist. "Consider it done."

"_**Remember that you are to contact us as soon as possible, the moment there is even the slightest change in the situation. You know what to do. I expect a report on Tuesday."**_

Mukai's side of the screen went black, and Gill's expanded to overtake the entire monitor.

"_Ladies, gentlemen, I wish you sincere luck. Then again, from what I've seen, you probably won't need it. You're quite skilled."_

He nodded curtly, and the computer went dark after his disconnection; immediately, Yashiro grabbed Vice by the collar of her suit and glared venomously at her, ignoring Chris's squeak of fear.

"Yagami KILLED YOUR ASS THE _**YEAR**_ BEFORE I DIED," he snarled. "So who the HELL are you to talk like you did any better than we did, huh?! WELL?!"

"You'll find out if you don't put me down," Vice hissed, her eyes burning. "You think I won't hesitate to rip that pretty little face right off your lumpy-ass head?"

"You can _try_."

"Um, guys, you really shouldn't...start something like that...in here...." Chris squeaked, feeling that he had to try something to diffuse the situation. "I mean, that Gill guy, he said he had faith in us, right? Are we going to prove him wrong with a pointless fight?"

Yashiro grunted, but his grip did loosen slightly as he recognized the quaver in Chris's voice as a sign that the boy was distinctly frightened. Vice took advantage of that to slap Yashiro's hand off, and after straightening her suit, she gave him a cruel sneer of her own before sauntering off with Mature, closing the door with a loud bang.

"Screw you too," Yashiro muttered darkly. "You arrogant prick."

"Yashiro," Wind said warningly. "She is our comrade. You will not continue to antagonize her, even if she is…less than gracious."

"I will not take bull from anyone, ever. I've suffered far too long for anyone to talk to me any way they want to."

He began to pace around, looking more and more as if he wanted to completely destroy something; seeing this and knowing how volatile he was, Shermie slunk up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest and waist, as much to restrain him as to cop a free feel. "We all did, Yashi-kun. We all remember the hellfire, the brimstone, the torture. But you can't endanger the mission over something like this. Otherwise...."

"...Yeah, yeah, I know – 'We'll be damned all over again.'"

Now assured that Yashiro wouldn't do anything rash, Shermie let him go; he looked over his shoulder at her, and then smiled briefly before grabbing a bottle of water, a pen, and a notepad. "I'm going to take a walk. Call me if you need me."

As he left, Shermie let her shoulders slump slightly, feeling something gnaw at her stomach. She didn't know if it was guilt, fear, longing, or some bizarre combination of all three, but one way or another, she knew that Yashiro's pain -- like hers, and Chris's -- was practically seared into him, and every time he was reminded of why he'd suffered, that pain boiled up and threatened to drive him into completely murdering someone.

_I don't want to lose you again, Yashiro. I...I want to be __**here,**__ with you, in __**this**__ world... even if the rest of it burns around us, I'll be fine if I have you._

…_So don't run away from us…from me. _

_Please._

"I believe I'll go for a walk myself," murmured Wind. "Don't feel as if you need to stay up for my sake."

And with that, she disappeared in a swirl of air.

Chris sighed and flopped onto the bed. "Sometimes I wonder if we're going to make it."

* * *

On the hotel's ground floor, Yashiro, striding like a man possessed, passed by a woman at the front desk. Under normal circumstances, he probably would have ignored her completely, but…something about her caught his attention. It might have been her red pompadour/long red braid hairdo, or her black business suit, or the handle-less yellow sunglasses she wore…whatever it was, though, her height and build were etched firmly into the tall man's mind, almost unconsciously.

"All right, Ms….Viper," the clerk said to her hesitantly, after Yashiro exited the lobby. "Your room is on the third floor."

"Thank you," she replied simply with a smile on her face. "Tell me, is your bar open?"

* * *

Author's Notes: Yes, like I noted above, I did some recalculations of things regarding the timeline. Basically, the flight from Florida (where First Southtown is canonically located, assuming that it is near Miami) to Japan takes long enough to put the teams in Chiryu City (which could be considered to be somewhere near Tokyo, for simplicity's sake) at about four or five PM, a day ahead of when the teams left Florida – which was a Friday. (The flight was a redeye, yes, but it did leave fairly early). It would've be Saturday in Florida when they landed, as mentioned by the MC, so the tournament itself started at 6 PM on Sunday in Japan.

If I screwed this up, I take full blame. This is why you should learn from my mistake and make sure you plan these sorts of things out beforehand.

Anyway, I'm sorry this one took so long. But I had to make sure I delivered on mostly all of the promised points. But then again, I would advise all of you to remember this: "Never trust a trailer!"

_Next chapter:_

_As the second day of bouts begin, Crimson Viper reveals herself to her old 'rivals', and some more speculation flies around regarding the tournament while the Rindoukan Dojo faces off against a hungry wolf and his cub._

_See it all in The King of Street Fighters, Chapter 19-"Chestnut Smash: Wolves vs. Rindoukan"_

_Keep the flag flying and go for broke!_

Until next time,

ZS, the Chain-Smoking Reploid Hermit


	19. Chestnut Smash: Wolves vs Rindoukan

The King of Street Fighters

A SF/KoF Crossover Fan Fiction

Written by Zero-Sennin

Chapter 19: Chestnut Smash: Wolves vs. Rindoukan

* * *

Thanks in no small part to both jet lag and the time they'd spent awake in the _onsen_, all three teams awoke quite late that Monday morning, not even stirring until 11 o'clock. Luckily, though, they didn't have to do much moving to get fed.

Two sharp raps sounded at Ryu and Ken's door first; the former immediately rolled out of bed, shook the sleep from his eyes, and slid it open. Shin bowed shortly as soon as the door enabled him to see inside.

"Good morning, Ryu-san. What would you like for breakfast?"

Ryu stared blearily at the manservant before recognizing the question. "Um, right…. Right.… Um...I don't have a preference, but Ken might like something like pancakes."

"Pancakes are _good,_" Ken moaned as he shifted around in his futon, half-awake. "Give me pancakes...."

"Impressive," Shin noted with a small smile. "No wonder he's a good fighter—he's got a good sense of his surroundings."

Laughing, Ryu shook his head. "You've seen NOTHING yet. And after you do see it, well...he might scare you more than impress you."

To his credit, Shin managed to hide his amusement (and bemusement) quite well, with another bow, and continued down the hallway, staying on the same side, to wake Iori. Ryu went to his suitcase, grabbed another _gi,_ and went to the bathroom to change. Moments later, he went into the hallway, briefly looking across at the women's rooms, and then made his way out, nodding at Shin as he passed by.

"I'll be out front. Let me know when breakfast is ready."

Shin bowed once more, saying, "As you wish, Ryu-san."

Shortly after Ryu's departure, Chun-Li's door opened, and the Chinese brunette emerged, hair loose and dressed in her jogging outfit.

"Oy, where're you goin'?" Cammy called from the bathroom. "It's a bit late for jogging, isn't it?"

"It is, but I've been sleeping for too long. I want to stretch my legs a bit. Make sure you actually talk with that Yagami guy today, hmm? Romantic tension makes you all wrinkly when you let it fester."

"Ryu should be up and about by now too," the Brit replied dryly, sticking her head out. "Follow your own advice, why don't you?"

Chun-Li's eyebrow twitched dangerously. "Is that a challenge, blondie?"

The secret agent strode out of the bathroom and fixed her rival with a hard stare and a smirk. "It bloody well is. First one of us to talk with them about...whatever the hell's going on...wins."

"What are the stakes?"

"Loser has to take their man out on a date."

Chun-Li spun about on her heel, walked into the bathroom, and offered her hand for a shake. "It's a deal."

Grinning, Cammy took the limb and pumped it once. "We don't start until I'm done in here, Yagami's left this part of the house, and we've got witnesses to verify who made first contact with their mark. Fair?"

"Sounds very fair," replied Chun-Li, her grin equally fierce. "Better pick out a dress for tonight."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryu was, as planned, practicing outside, though for the sake of avoiding property damage he wasn't using any Hadoukens. Instead, he was meditating deeply, attempting to draw out another part of his power for use in more than one move. After a few more moments of quiet thought, devoid of movement, his eyes opened, and he flawlessly performed a Shoryuken; to his satisfaction, a buzzing surge of electricity throbbed and pulsed around his leading fist, and lasted until he began his descent to the ground.

"See, Ken, you're not the only one that can learn some new tricks," he said to himself with a proud smile. "Now…let's see how much longer I can keep it up."

He tapped the power again and launched into another Shoryuken, and another, concentrating the energy with each repetition. By the fifth one, he was breathing a bit heavier, but the power of the attack had increased noticeably with successively smaller drains on his energy.

"Not bad...not bad at all...."

He sat down and flexed his hands a bit, realizing that the repeated use of his new Shoryuken had numbed them both. He stood back up the moment he saw that he'd drawn an audience, namely the rest of his housemates (except Chun-Li), Chizuru, Shin, Rin, and a few servants.

"Copycat," Ken said with a grin, a pancake half-shoved in his mouth. "But at least you finally did it right…. Course, fire's always cooler than lightning, but whatever works, man...."

"Well, what can I say? I've got skill."

"Then let's test that out," Kyo challenged with a sly grin. "You against me, here and now—let's go."

Ryu stood up, shook out his hands, and gave Kyo a scrutinizing look before nodding once and taking his stance. "Someone keep time. Two minute match."

Chizuru nodded, pushed up her sleeve, and looked at her watch. "All right, gentlemen. Any time you're ready."

Ryu and Kyo took their stances, waiting...waiting...and then, with simultaneous _kiai_, they charged each other.

Silently, everyone watched the fight, wincing at each blow taken or blocked. Despite the lack of any formal practice, the two were as sharp as ever, and were not failing to disappoint. While the others were thusly distracted, Cammy slyly slipped over to where Iori stood and sidled up to him, staying close but not too far.

_In the bag, this is, _she thought to herself with a smug smile. _Ryu will be so wiped from his fight that he won't move, meaning that I've got enough time to convince Yagami to go with me before she gets her chance._

Surprisingly, the match finished rather quickly, thanks to a well-timed cross counter that knocked both combatants to the ground. Once they got up, they took their stances again, but Chizuru stepped between them before they moved.

"Shall we call it a draw?" she said with a light clap of her hands. "We don't want you to bring the fight up to the next level and blow the lawn to all hell."

The panting fighters nodded their acceptance and sat down heavily; instantly, Chun-Li made her move, walking calmly over to Ryu to take his measure. Cammy saw this and quickly turned to Iori.

"Say, Yagami, I've got a question for you. Mind comin' with me a bit to chat?"

Iori looked over his shoulder at her, and after a moment, he shook his head. "I don't feel like going anywhere right now. Ask it here or ask it later."

"Now, Yagami, be reasonable," the blonde said, forcing a smile onto her face to avoid strangling the red-head. "I just want to talk a bit, savvy? But I want to do it in private."

"Well, I don't feel like moving, savvy?"

"Stop being difficult, damn it!" Cammy hissed. "Jesus, man, all I want to do is have a private conversation! Is that so wrong?"

"It is when there's a bet on it," he replied calmly.

The color drained from Cammy's face, and she swallowed deeply, producing a visible knot in her throat.

"It's funny, you know. As it happens, there is at least one highly-trained stealth bodyguard in any given section of this house at any given time. And they just love to gossip, and are more than happy to share little things that they overhear, such as…hmm, oh, conversations about other guests and bets placed on those other guests…if you ask them."

"Then you know that you're letting Chun-Li win, which also means that we're going out on a date. You want that?"

"I don't exactly…care about that. Besides that, consider it payback for getting me involved in this stupid contest without my consent."

Cammy let her gaze slide over to Chun-Li; the brunette was chatting happily with a much more revitalized Ryu, and in a few moments they left together; they weren't holding hands or anything, but it was pretty clear that at the very least, Chun-Li was finally going to confess to him, success or failure.

"Well, wonderful," she said tiredly. "I've lost now. Are you satisfied?"

Instead of the customary nasty response, Iori smiled mysteriously, taking Cammy aback. "Actually, I might be." He paused again, the look on his face gradually growing more pensive. "What do you say to going out tomorrow, after the last matches? We'll be in town, and we shouldn't be too tired, I suspect."

"Sounds fine, I guess," muttered Cammy, still a bit surprised. "Don't make me wear a dress, got it?"

"That's fine by me."

Silently, Cammy made a note to not restrain the next urge to strangle Yagami's ginger-headed ass when it fought its way to the surface.

* * *

_Now, to step back a few moments in time and concentrate on the other pair…_

_

* * *

_

As Kyo walked away from Ryu, muttering something about getting some food in his stomach before his fatheaded Yankee teammate ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Chun-Li made her way over to Ryu and sat next to him. After a quick glance at Cammy, who seemed to be preoccupied with a less-than-compliant Yagami, she focused her attention on Ryu and did what she did best—small talk.

"So, Ryu…you learned that new trick from Ken, did you? It looks interesting, but I'd rather not be on the receiving end of it."

"Well, I haven't mastered it exactly, so you wouldn't lose in a stroke." He paused to rub his leading hand, trying to knead the numb feeling out of it. "And all the electricity tends to screw with the circulation."

Chun-Li smiled a bit and gently took his hand into hers, rubbing it gently. "Well, I know how to do massages," she replied gently. "Want me to help out with your treatment?"

At first, Ryu seemed to shrink under her ministrations; obviously a response was slow to form on his lips. Eventually, though, he managed to collect himself, remembering some of Ken's 'advice' on what to do in 'sticky situations like this' and said, "That sounds like a wonderful offer. I'll take it."

_Well, here it is, the moment of truth, _Chun-Li told herself, keeping her expression exactly the same._ Just gotta tell him how I feel, and then that's it. _

"Um…Ryu, I kind of have a little confession to make," she began, coughing slightly. "See, the thing is, I…."

If there was anything Ryu had learned from watching _Hearts in Bloom, _it was this: 'When confident girls start stammering and stuttering like a skipping record, you've got a confession incoming. Butch up and be honest with them, or they'll kill you dead.'

_Looks like it's time to kill the tension, then. Ken ought to be pleased; he's been telling me to quit dangling her around already. Not that I was __**trying**__ to dangle, but…._

"You like me?" he blurted out.

Chun-Li's blush could have lit up the world's darkest cave for days on end, and for a quick second Ryu thought that he'd been too blunt. He was spared the agony of a Spinning Bird Kick, however, as the Supercop recovered rather quickly from the sudden statement.

"Well…well, yes. For a while, I have. But it didn't start out that way, though—I just thought that you were a great fighter, and I respected that. Sure, you were handsome, but…you always seemed burdened by something, and you were always walking down that path of the warrior. I never…thought I'd be able to deal with you on that level, so I just…."

…_Let me go, _Ryu finished for her. …_Until now, anyway. _

He scratched his head and looked up at the sky for a bit, taking in the sight of the clouds drifting on by to calm his nerves, before speaking again.

"Things were just different then, for me. Back then, I really only saw myself as being representative of my school, of an idea…because, being an orphan, I didn't have anything else to represent. These days, I have a better sense of who I am beyond the realm of 'Ryu Hoshi the wandering fighter', and I guess it shows."

He stood up, stretching the kinks out of his back, and offered his hand to his companion, who gratefully took it and pulled herself up.

"If you think I'd make decent boyfriend material, then the gentlemanly thing to do is to give it a shot. Would you like that?"

Playfully, Chun-Li punched his left bicep. "Naturally, I would LOVE that. But first, let's test it out. Why don't we get breakfast together and go from there?"

And with that, the two made their way inside.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed without incident, as the teams ate breakfast in the dining hall together. Whether it was out of respect or just because everyone was too shocked by the fact that some of the Unresolved Sexual Tension had finally drained out of the group, no one commented on Ryu and Chun-Li sitting next to each other at the table as the new couple shyly stole glances at each other. No one commented on the fact that Cammy was staring murderously at Iori, either, mostly because no one wanted to have the woman twist their heads halfway around and back again.

Luckily, before Ken or Kyo could slip up and forget this crucial fact, Athena and Kensou arrived to occupy Cammy with training; she disappeared in short order, but not without a final punch to Iori's head and a muttered mention of 'not getting any ideas', which (once again) everyone pretended to not notice.

It was only after she left that Ken finally leaned over to Ryu and said, "You'd think she'd be happier about getting a guy."

Ryu shrugged it off, knowing the reason why Cammy was angry (as Chun-Li had explained it to him on the way in), but not wanting to get involved. "Well, I never really understood Westerners anyway. Let them sort it out between them. It's the proper thing to do, isn't it?"

The blonde gave his trademark shrug and grin combination, leaning back into his chair as he patted his very full stomach. "Yeah, I guess that's the best way. I don't want her to come back when she's got fully realized psychic powers and kill the crap out of me."

"No, don't worry, she would never do that," Juni said cheerfully. "She'd probably send me to do it instead!"

Juli finished chewing a piece of sushi and swallowed, nodding briskly. "You do have the highest kill-rate amongst the team on missions."

The Ansatsuken fighters shifted quietly in their seats, realizing that perhaps, M. Bison's influence hadn't faded as much as the girls had thought…or that maybe they had just taken to their new line of work too easily.

* * *

Surprisingly, the rest of the morning and afternoon passed without incident, once breakfast had finally been taken care of; a few people returned to the _onsen, _while others took long naps in their bedrooms, or followed Cammy's example and started training, as a warm-up for what might come.

Included in the last group, besides Cammy, was the Cherry Blossom Brigade, paired off in front of the main building; Shingo and Sean were trading quick jabs back and forth, while Sakura was showing off some of her techniques for Hinata; Sakura hadn't actually displayed any of her _bokken_ or _shinai_ techniques to any of her teammates, preferring to rely on her emulated 'Ansatsuken' until something forced her hand.

"See, this is a _Hishou Zankuu Ken (Rising Air Cutting Blade)_," the gym teacher explained calmly as she performed a spinning rising slash, spawning a miniature tornado right in front of her. "And this…"—here, she came out of the spin and dropped down, bringing the blade down upon an imaginary opponent's skull AND physically shaking the ground when she struck it—"is a _Sakurazuchi (Cherry Blossom Hammer)_."

After taking a moment to pull her jaw up from the floor, Hinata finally asked, "You came up with these techniques how, again?"

Sakura dusted off her jacket and shoved her _shinai_ into her belt with a smile. "I basically just thought about what would happen if I merged the stuff I got from copying Ryu with sword fighting. That was it, really. Sadly, I can't show you anything too strong or I might actually wreck a tree or something."

"OK, now you're exaggerating."

"I am not, but I meant what I said—you'll just have to wait and see."

Sean had stopped his attack when Sakura's had done a fair job of nearly knocking him over, and Shingo, committed to another punch, wound up hitting the poor boy in the face, flattening him against the ground in one shot.

"…Oh, damn! Sorry, Sean. You OK?"

The Brazilian lad closed his rapidly swelling eye rather than answer the question. "OW."

"Guess that's a no," Sakura quipped.

* * *

Elsewhere, Kyo was leaning against a tree, studying a fireball that he'd lit in the palm of his right hand. Occasionally, the flame, against his will, dimmed or flickered slightly, and he would have to concentrate for a few moments to make it go back to normal. Eventually, the exertion began to aggravate him instead of relax him, and he stood up, shaking out the hand with an irritated snort.

"Just like when I fought Bogard, it's not staying steady. Truthfully, though, I wouldn't be surprised if it's happening because Yagami's flames belong to Crimson now."

He made his way back towards the _onsen_ with his brow set in a hard line. The facts were clear; he would be at a slight disadvantage if he had to face Crimson first, thanks to this weird phenomenon, and if he lost the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, then that was it. All three powers—destruction, stasis, and sealing—would be in the hands of a girly-looking weirdo with some hidden agenda…

…_and every Kusanagi in the world will become flame-less. I can only imagine the old man's reaction to __**that.**_

Kyo was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Iori, smoking a cigarette, sitting on the steps that led back into the main house's kitchen until the redhead threw a pebble that skipped off of his head.

"Agh! Dammit, what the hell are you doing, Yagami?!"

"Pay attention next time," Iori said blandly. "Can't you even say hello to a fellow when he's right in front of you?"

Kyo rolled his eyes. "Get to the point, sometime this century…."

With a grunt, Iori stood up, rolled a shoulder, and jammed his left hand into his pocket, closing his left eye. "You're thinking about Crimson, aren't you. Are you scared?"

"Like hell I am. He's one man, even if he's got your flames and the mirror. I'll beat him to a pulp if I get a piece of him."

Iori smiled rather bitterly, and shook his head. "I thought the same thing, myself…. Look at what happened to me." He chuckled in a way that spoke of frustration and resignation. "I can still fight, but…I have to tell you, I don't feel the same at all. If I get those flames back….I'm finding some way to purify them, for good."

Kyo thought back to how Iori's flames had turned scarlet when they had fought Orochi in 1998, and remarked, "Well, if your _San Shingi no Ni_ technique is any indication, it was happening naturally anyway."

"But not fast enough. Not thoroughly enough. I'm done being a puppet, Kyo. I'm ready to live life on my own terms, even if I'm nothing but the scum of the earth. "

He fixed Kyo with a strong glare; though it carried no hostility, it caught the young Kusanagi's attention in an instant, and made him all the more receptive to the following words:

"Remember what it's like to be whole, because if you lose too, there may be no chance for you to fix it."

And with that, Iori returned to his seat on the steps, as if he had never stopped Kyo at all, and used his free hand to take the cigarette out of his mouth, exhaling smoke. For a few seconds, Kyo continued to look at him, wondering where Iori's sudden burst of…personable behavior had come from.

Then, Cammy's grunts of exertion came to Kyo's ears, and he turned to the source of the sound; as it turned out, Kensou and Athena were training her in front of the _onsen_, directly in Iori's line of sight. Immediately, he was struck with understanding, but instead of teasing Iori about the situation (mostly out of respect for the unusual honesty the redhead had just offered up), Kyo headed up the stairs to get something to eat.

_Iori Yagami, inspired by a woman. Never thought I'd see the day._

_

* * *

All too soon, the fated hour fell upon the Kagura estate, and all three teams dressed up for battle again and headed out. Unlike last night, though, the ride was quiet, almost inhumanly so; by mutual, unspoken agreement, no one was thinking about anything besides the battles that were ahead._

They arrived at the arena about fifteen minutes before the start time, and quickly made their way to the center as per usual. The bench that had been broken in the Shinobi Alliance/Justice Team match had been replaced, and mats were now adhered to the walls where the stands began and the floor around the ring. Though the teams from Chizuru's estate hadn't come late, exactly, all of the other teams had arrived already, sharing the same grim expressions (except for Ash Crimson, of course).

Mature and Vice, having learned their lesson about bothering Iori, gave him nothing but a sneer as Team Ansatsuken settled themselves, which he returned in kind. The Justice Team and the Cherry Blossom Brigade sat down on the benches next to them; Athena and Kensou, in turn, chose to hang around Cammy, as the A.S.R.T. team had gone into the stands long before.

Aside from the buzzing of the crowd and a few murmurs between team members, the same vow of silence was maintained; with the visible departure of the eliminated teams, no one really wanted to say anything that would either jinx themselves or distract them from what mattered.

Unfortunately for Chun-Li and Cammy, all of that went right out the window when the woman Yashiro passed at the hotel lobby the night before approached their bench from behind, with a cheerful greeting of "How are you, amateurs?"; when the Supercop and the MI6 agent turned to face the newcomer, the atmosphere immediately became tenser.

"...You," Chun-Li said, her nose wrinkled with distaste. "You do realize that the floor is for contestants, don't you?"

"Why, Former Inspector Xiang, how could you say something like that? Surely I've proven to you by now that I'm no fool."

"…You are a homicidal little chit, though," Cammy remarked coldly.

"You're only saying that because you lost to me," Viper interjected, tossing in a nasty smirk to boot. "You shouldn't take it so personally. I was undercover, you know. And the name is Viper, thank you very much."

Her patience now stretched to the utmost, Chun-Li drew herself up and stared Viper dead in the face. "Look, if you came here for something besides heckling, do it and leave! You're distracting all of us here, and I don't appreciate it!"

Viper turned on her heel, facing away from Chun-Li like a pouting child. "Well. Aren't we easily offended? But since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you this much—this tournament isn't for show. I don't know all the details yet, but…it's safe to say that there is, yet again, some ulterior motive to all the fighting going on here. According to the intelligence I received from my superiors, one of the companies funding this tournament…is a public cover for a different organization. To be more specific…it's a cover for 'the Illuminati'."

Unconsciously, Chun-Li's fists clenched and she growled, almost to herself, "_Dammit._"

Viper blinked, wondering what might have made Chun-Li so visibly irritated. "I take it that you've dealt with them before?"

"They took one of my children," Chun-Li said, her voice brimming with barely restrained fury. "One of their members, Urien… he's a fool with a god complex. I still beat him into fish paste before I took Mei back."

Though it would have been easy to miss, Viper's eyes softened slightly at mention of the abduction. "I…may not have met him myself, but I would certainly agree with the part about being a fool. At any rate…I'm only here to investigate—I won't bother either of you. I just believed that I should inform you in case you decided that our…mutual history was reason enough for you to mistrust me, should you see me around."

"Hey, you over there, with the ugly pomp-braid combination," Vice called. "Get into the stands; the matches are starting. Or would you like me to call security down here and escort you?"

"I can take a hint, thank you very much," Viper shot back, rubbing the studs of her gloves with one of her palms; the temptation to hit Vice right between the eyes with a Thunder Knuckle was tempting, but, as she admitted to herself, it wouldn't have been worth it. "I was just on my way."

And with that, she began walking off…only for Cammy to grab her by the braid and pull her close; the British woman's eyes were burning with Psycho Powered light, but she repressed the urge to let it burst out of her body.

"Listen here, you. I don't care if you were doing your job. You aimed a gun at me, and beat me half to death to draw out my friend's latent, UNCONTROLLABLE power. Do it again, and I'll make you pay. Savvy?"

"…Of course."

Though her tone carried the same mocking current, Viper's gaze wasn't as disdainful, assuring Cammy that the point was made. She let go of Viper's braid, and cast a pensive stare at the retreating agent, as Mature and Vice began their duties as announcers.

"Welcome back, everyone, to _The King of Street Fighters,_" began the blonde half of the dynamic duo. "Last night was quite a show, huh?"

The crowd replied with a deafening roar that shook the very stadium to the core, and the two hostesses exchanged sly smiles; even the crowd's fighting spirit was working as energy for reviving Orochi, and it was growing by the minute.

"Well, who are we to keep you waiting?" Vice continued. "Randomizer, it's your time! What's it gonna be?"

Above the ring, the Jumbotron screen flashed white a few times; on the third flash, it retained its color, and the scroll bar that raced across the monitor was black as midnight.

_The Rindoukan Dojo vs. The Wolf and Cub Team_

"And our first matchup is a 2-on-2 slugfest! All right, teams, get up here! We've got a show to start!"

Without delay, Makoto and Nagato entered the arena on the left side, while Terry and Rock entered from the right. While the former pair turned to each other and held a short conversation, presumably about who would fight first, the latter pair looked to Mary and gave her a cocky thumbs-up and a jaunty wave respectively, which she returned with a kiss and a wink.

Soon enough, Nagato stepped into the center of the ring, assuming a stance exactly like Makoto's. Rock eagerly adjusted his new pair of biker gloves that he'd gotten just for the occasion before moving to meet him.

"This is gonna be a good one!" the boy said. "Let's make it awesome!"

Nagato nodded and tightened his belt before retaking his position. "I have no intention of doing otherwise."

"Enough natter and chatter, boys," Vice said with a fierce grin. "Get to it!"

* * *

Despite the younger boy's lack of range, his attacks were still fast and fierce; most of Nagato's parries were right in the nick of time, and oftentimes, Rock forced Nagato into putting his back foot down, in order to ground himself against the blows properly.

_He really is excited about this, _Nagato said to himself. _…However, I didn't come all this way to let Makoto-senpai down. I won't let him win easily!_

When Rock aimed a punch at Nagato's chin, the Rindoukan fighter managed to step in and push the attack upwards, leaving Rock's body open for a powerful left straight that pushed the boy back a few feet. Of course, Nagato didn't let it stop there, and advanced with a double-fisted blow that outright knocked Rock over.

After exhaling deeply, Nagato pulled back, and allowed Rock to get up. This time, though, the blonde boy didn't act immediately, but began to circle Nagato, waiting for a possible opening. With the stillness and patience of an old master, Nagato returned the favor, following Rock with his eyes and taking equally measured steps.

Eventually, Rock's forbearance paid off; as Nagato advanced with the lightning-fast sliding punch that Makoto was known for, the _Hayate,_ Rock backstepped—just far enough to leave Nagato in the lurch, and close enough to counter with two punches to the stomach. Groaning, the older fighter staggered long enough for Rock to jump up and yell "DUNK!" while punching Nagato down to the ground.

At first glance, the fight seemed to be over right then and there; however, Nagato's reflexes saved him, as he caught himself with his hands, rolled away from Rock, and pulled himself up, tripping Rock with a powerful sweeping kick as he rose. The boy landed on his back with an unintelligible grunt, and Nagato followed up with a powerful chop that struck Rock in the abdomen.

Satisfied, Nagato drew back, reassuming his stance as he did, and waited to see if Rock would rise; following a few shallow breaths, Rock finally did get up, his passion unbowed, and raised his guard again, eyes shining with power and determination.

Without warning, his fists began to glow, and after taking a step back, he rocketed forward, fist first, with a powerful yell. Nagato, caught unawares, barely had time to fortify his defense before Rock hit him with all the subtlety of a hammer.

"Ooh, he gave that Shine Knuckle a shot," Terry remarked with a grin, half to himself. "Good to see he's been paying attention. The only question is whether or not he hit with it. If his range is still too short, then…that's it."

Unfortunately for young Rock, Terry had called it to a tee. Nagato's slow reaction would have been the end of him, were it not for the fact that Rock's punch couldn't connect through his two-handed block. As a result, Rock and Nagato slid back for a few feet, before Nagato shook the boy's hand loose and inhaled sharply.

"Get ready!" the Rindoukan fighter roared, stepping forward. "This is the end!"

With a fluid ease borne from long hours of practice, Nagato punched downward, striking Rock in the pit of the stomach, then shifted to fully face the boy as he added three alternating punches to the chest; to finish it off, he moved back briefly, then returned with a powerful punch to Rock's jaw.

"SEICHUUSEN GODANZUKI!"

The last blow blasted poor Rock halfway across the fighting area, stunning the crowd into silence; he skipped off the ground at the middle, only once, before he landed on the pads surrounding the stage.

While Terry rushed over to make sure that Rock was all right, Nagato squared his shoulders and took a steadying breath, loosening his muscles and numbing a bit of the pain from Rock's miscellaneous strikes. The quiet moment didn't last long, though, as Terry soon re-entered the ring, stance solid and promising a hellish fight for Nagato.

"Get ready," the blonde man intoned dangerously. "You won fair and square, yeah, but I'm totally ready for you."

Nagato nodded his understanding of Terry's promise and took up his defense again. "I expect no less from you…Hungry Wolf."

Mature took the mike from Vice and tossed it into the air a short height, snatching it at the apex of its rise, and smiled at the crowd, which had recovered some of its excitement but not enough to break into a full-on explosion of rowdiness.

"Match 1, Round 2...Terry Bogard vs. Nagato Kagase…who will come out on top?"

She didn't even have to say "Fight" for the two men to charge each other.

* * *

Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Happy New Year, eh heh heh…heh…heh.

Seriously, though, I'm sorry.

Things have been kind of crazy, and I was having a hard time getting this chapter out properly. I would have made it longer, to cover the entire first matchup, but splitting it will not only heighten the suspense but also make it a lot easier for me to keep the proper flow.

Also, as requested by SerpentKing707 a very long time ago, I've finally started the one-shot _In the Wind of the Cherry Blossoms_, a gaiden story that will detail how Makoto and Nagato met, and how Nagato became a practitioner of Rindoukan-style martial arts.

At this point, I would say that this story is a ways past the halfway mark, and that the climax will be approaching within the next two to four chapters (probably the latter, knowing my luck). I would really like to be finished with the story by summertime, or maybe even April, so the chapters will hopefully start coming a lot faster.

One last thing.... I referenced part of the movie packaged with Street Fighter IV, _The Ties That Bind,_ during Crimson Viper's conversation with Cammy and Chun-Li, as part of my "SFIV Integration Plan"; if you're confused, watch it and you'll understand what's happened.

_Next chapter:_

_After the dust settles from the conflict between Terry and the Rindoukan Dojo, Team Ansatsuken must face off against the foe they've been anticipating—or is that dreading? Iori, as planned, chooses to step forward first; the only question is whether or not his willpower can withstand the beating he could very well receive._

_The pride of the Yagami is put on the line in Chapter 20 of The King of Street Fighters—"Lonely Man, Flaming Moon, and Reclamation."_

Until next time,

Zero-Sennin, the Disgaea-Addicted Reploid Hermit


	20. Stormy Jam

_The King of Street Fighters_

_A KoF/SF Fanfiction_

_Written by Zero-Sennin_

**Chapter 20: Lonely Man, Flaming Moon, and Reclamation—Stormy Jam**

**

* * *

**Nagato knew that he was fighting a harder battle than usual from the moment he rushed to meet Terry's opening dash. First and foremost, he now had longer reach and more battle experience to contend with. Besides all that, Terry's motivation to win was as high as it could possibly get—his apprentice had lost very, very badly, and if he went too, the Wolf and Cub Team's dreams of tournament dominance would founder.

In other words, Nagato had to come out swinging or he'd taste hard canvas, repeatedly, until Terry had completely knocked him out.

Those facts clearly acknowledged in his mind, the younger man met Terry's shoulder charge with one of his own, colliding heavily and stopping the blonde in his tracks. They broke apart quickly, but soon enough, they were in the fray again, exchanging hard blows to the face, the head, and the stomach--really, anywhere he could reach.

Unfortunately for Nagato, Rock's blows were gradually taking their toll; his head was still a bit fuzzy—he could feel his concentration fluctuating as he strove to break through Terry's attacks with a solid connection—and his shoulder was aching from his last-minute contact with Terry's Power Charge. Eventually, he misjudged a punch and extended his arm for a fraction of a second too long; Terry immediately brushed the weak attack aside and nailed Nagato with a hook and a straight, followed by another Power Charge to finish the combo.

The move was undoubtedly strong, but through sheer force of will, Nagato managed to stay standing, and even countered with a stronger punch than his last, hitting Terry straight in the face. The force of the blow knocked Terry's hat off, and he staggered back, clutching his rapidly blackening eye; free from the pressure, Nagato took a moment to gather himself, steeling his nerves for what he was about to do next, and then leapt back and up into the air.

"Whoa, he's got hops," Ken remarked in surprise. "What's he planning?"

"I think…I remember this one," Ryu murmured, half-responding to Ken. "When I fought Makoto, she did the same thing, but…she missed—landed just short of hitting me with a nasty dive-kick. Terry's stunned, though. Unless he moves fast, he won't make it."

Roaring loudly, Nagato did exactly as Ryu predicted, rocketing down with his foot outstretched. However, Terry was shaken out of his brief bout of confusion thanks to the noise, and he managed to pull a glowing fist back as Nagato descended.

"Here we go!" the blonde American cried. "POWAAAAAAH…GEYSAAAAAH!"

And he slammed his hand to the ground, spawning a huge wave of energy that engulfed Nagato, who was just about to land. Immediately, the Rindoukan fighter was blown back and away; though he didn't hit the padding outside of the arena too hard, the shock from the blow was just too much for him, and he didn't get up.

Makoto, who had been sitting and watching the entire fight with absolute calm, stood quietly as soon as Nagato's arm flopped weakly onto the mat beneath him. Before the medics reached him, she was there, lifting him up gently, almost cradling him, with a look of inscrutability on her face. Once the stretcher came for him, she placed him upon it almost casually, and then stepped into the ring while Terry was picking up his hat and settling it back on his blonde locks.

"…I am impressed," she said to him once he looked up at her. "You let your emotions fuel your spirit, but did not let them overtake you."

She lifted her hands to shoulder level, showing her palms freely, and then thrust them down, pointing the fingertips towards each other stiffly. The fighting ring shook briefly, causing Terry to stagger a bit, as she slid into her stance; her scarf began to flutter behind her of its own volition.

"Come anytime!" she barked, her voice loud and fiery as it normally was. "Rindoukan's fist won't fall to you again!"

Terry responded by straightening his cap and taking a deep breath, mostly to calm the nerves in his body that were quivering either from anticipation or outright fear.

_That…thing just now…was all fighting spirit. This is going to be rough._

He settled his shoulders, put up his hands, and clenched them into fists, grinning.

"Let's rock and roll!"

"Yeah, let's!" Vice agreed with a truly manic smile. "Get to it anytime, Terry, Makoto!"

Knowing that hesitation would be fatal, Terry moved in, leaping forward fist-first with a Burning Knuckle. Makoto, in contrast, advanced slowly, dodging the attack with a slight lean to the side and hitting Terry with a counter-punch. Tirelessly, she followed with a sharp elbow to the face, another to the chest—driving him to the floor—and snapped out a sharp kick to the sternum as a finisher.

Carried by the force of the kick, Terry flipped over, head and heels, and landed on his back, shaking the ring quite forcefully. For a while, it looked like the American was down and out; Makoto subsequently decided to confirm it by walking over to him to deliver a coup de grace…and received a nasty surprise, as Terry quickly launched into a foot-first upwards spin, twisting his heel on Makoto's chin multiple times as they flew up into the air.

"Rising Tackle!"

* * *

"Damn," Ryo hissed. "That was a strong one! She's done for."

Yuri shook her head, whipping her braid around. "I don't think so, nii-chan. That Makoto lady doesn't fool around. She'll get right up and put Terry out like a light."

The blonde snorted, arms crossed. "Well, we'll see about that."

Of course, they did see very quickly, as Makoto managed a back-flip recovery and kicked out at a still-vulnerable Terry, pushing them both back. Terry landed roughly on the floor, grunting; on the other hand, while Makoto stuck her landing, it was chancy enough to put a quiver into her ankle, as well as a short, lancing pain. Inadvertently, she drew a breath raggedly enough to aggravate her injured jaw, which caused a few tears of pain to drop from her eyes.

"…OK, so maybe, just MAYBE…she could put him down," Ryo acceded grudgingly. "Still, the match ain't over yet, is it?"

Oh, how wrong he was on that second part.

* * *

Makoto's momentary distraction enabled Terry to get back onto his own feet fairly quickly and get just a little closer to her. Rather than attack, though, he watched carefully, his eyes thoughtful as he came up with an off-the-cuff plan to make sure that Makoto would get set up for full defeat.

First, he punched the ground, as if he was summoning another Power Geyser, but instead of the huge wave, a smaller one rushed along the ground, aimed directly at Makoto. The Rindoukan fighter managed to take a short dash out of the way despite her impeded movement; unfortunately, the maneuver left her open long enough for Terry to leap at her, using a forward somersault to drop his outstretched leg and ankle on her head.

"Crack Shoot!"

Stunned by the blow, Makoto yelped and fell to a knee, practically putting her hand through the floor with the way she slammed her palm down to keep herself upright. Terry wasn't stopping his attack just for that, though—he used an uppercut to catch her on the jaw and pull her to standing level (of a sort), then used another Power Charge to knock her down.

When she finally struggled to her feet again, Terry's fist was cocked back, glowing with energy, and she recognized what he was going to do immediately, having seen the move in the preliminaries just like everyone else.

"…_Buster…Wolf", he called it, _she thought. _It's a lot like the Hayate in theory…so maybe the Hayate can match it…._

She looked over to the medical tent where Nagato was still being checked, and closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

_Here's hoping that we really did learn from each other, Nagato-kun._

With a single, sharp movement, she entered the stance for her Hayate—one hand out, the back of her other fist turned towards her face—and inhaled sharply, such that the ring shook and that her scarf's tails fluttered as if they'd been caught in a storm.

_What the hell is she doing?_ Terry wondered, briefly bewildered by the ground's movement under him. The answer became all too clear when he felt a raw pulse of energy surge up and through her, even from his position clear on the other side of the ring. It wasn't refined enough for a blast, or anything like that, but it was damn well enough to pump up her physical ability.

Terry had a distinct feeling that if he met her attack with Buster Wolf, he would damn well lose the fist he used on her, or at the very least put it into an absolutely FUBAR state. If he let her attack connect with him, though, he'd be spinning like a top…and into the ground. He could tell that much.

_Lettin' her come at me will just get me killed. Guess I gotta buck up and go for it._

Without warning, he shot forward, yelling out, "THIS IS IT! Are you OK?!"

Makoto tensed up and furrowed her brows as the glowing fist came closer and closer to her. _Here it comes! Go all out, Makoto!_

"BUSTAH WOLF!"

In an instant, Makoto unleashed her power and slid forward as Terry bore down on her, and screamed:

"Banfuu Toppa!"

Without fanfare, their fists met head on, and the force of the collision shook the ring below them. From the ringside, Mature and Vice grinned and looked at each other, feeling the power feed into their bodies in a thick, constant stream.

"This should be more than enough," the blonde purred. "Oh, yes, more than enough…."

"I still say we should keep this running," Vice countered. "These people are expecting the show to go on. Let's give them that, at least."

"Why, of course."

Of course, Terry and Makoto weren't concerned with that—only with outlasting the other long enough to claim victory. Granted, their opposing directions had caused the force of their attacks to magnify and ripple up their punching arms, bringing astounding pain up with them, but that wasn't their concern either…at least, that wasn't their concern yet.

"Hey, hey, you're still OK?" Terry asked over the howl of wind swirling around them. "You really are somethin', you know that?"

"As are you," Makoto replied; though her voice was loud, she wasn't screaming so much as projecting it. "But…I am not going to stand here and let this spring breeze ruffle me forever."

With a mighty grunt, she began to step forward, allowing her colliding hand to be pushed backwards by Terry. Of course he could see and understand what she was doing, and so he let her come closer, knowing that he would have to measure his counter-attack or risk being pushed off balance.

Then, at the absolutely final moment, he moved forward as well, swinging with his free hand.

This time, there was no collision of fists…only a cross-counter.

Her fist buried halfway into his face, his fist buried halfway into her face.

The wind from before died down, and their clashing hands became free from one another, falling and dangling limply. They stood, frozen, at the ring's center, for what seemed like an eternity, as the crowd went dead silent and watched them eagerly, fearfully, curiously.

"…Crap," mumbled Terry at last, managing to speak around Makoto's hand. "What the hell are you made of, girl?"

"Hard work, dedication, and passion," she replied slowly. "No more and no less than what you are made of."

He grinned shakily. "Heh… No joke…."

Slowly, he fell to a knee, and then splayed out onto his back, closing his eyes; his cap fell from his head and rolled along the arena floor, stopping face-up. After a moment, Makoto finally straightened up, squaring her shoulders, and bowed shortly to Terry's prone form before striding boldly from the arena…directly towards the medical tent, limping a bit and holding her trembling right hand by the wrist.

"…That was quite possibly the most ludicrous thing I've ever seen in my entire life," Ken finally managed to say. "If we draw her team, I refuse to fight, period. Between that Nagato kid and her, one of them would get me to explode, or something, I dunno."

"Never knew you were such a coward, Ken," Iori replied. "Gonna go home now?"

"SHADDUP, YOU JACKASS!"

"You're makin' a scene, you idiots!" Cammy hollered at them. "Stuff it!"

"YOU FIRST, 'WANKER'," Ken shouted back.

Before the scene could escalate any further, Ryu knocked firmly on Ken's forehead and gave Cammy a sharp look, shutting them both up.

"Quiet down, children," he deadpanned. "We don't want to embarrass ourselves in public, now do we? At least not any more so than you just did."

Both parties gave Ryu an angry stare, but to their credit neither said a word, and chose to focus on the matchup board instead, right as it finished its display show.

_Team Ansatsuken vs. Ash Crimson_

Instantly, Ryu, Ken, Kyo, and Iori locked eyes with each other, and then glared as one at Ash Crimson, who was standing with the most devil-may-care, innocent smile on his face. Wordlessly, Iori went to the ring while the rest of the team moved up to a closer bench.

"Good luck, Iori," Shingo yelled. "Kick some tail!"

"Show him your moves!" Sean added, ignoring the subsequent hit from Sakura's _bokuto_ that crashed into the back of his head.

Iori snorted, and waved a hand dismissively, but didn't actually say anything to dismiss the encouragement. Meanwhile, Crimson was basking in the adoration of his fans cheering and yelling for him, stepping daintily and twirling around.

"Ladies, ladies, please, please, do not fawn so sweetly," he said, smiling widely. "It is, ah, rather embarrassingly flattering."

"Hey, pretty-boy!" Iori snapped, making his voice irate and loud enough to match the cheering fangirls. "You going to primp and pose or are you gonna fight?"

Ash rounded on Iori with a sneer; green flames sprung to life along his long red sleeves, centered in the palms of his thin hands.

"I wanted to give you a moment to make peace with whomever or whatever you believe to be God. But…obviously you don't need it."

The flames turned somewhat purplish, and the redhead's face twisted into a very ugly frown as he clenched a fist.

"This is NOT going to be quick and painless for you, asshole," he growled. "Let's go!"

"Ash Crimson, Iori Yagami," Mature said, smiling darkly. "Begin whenever you wish."

Ash leapt into the air, hands drawn back as his flames roared, and Iori, unafraid, ran at him and jumped up to meet him. Since Ash was already thrusting his hands forward, Iori had to thrust his arms forward to catch the Frenchman's opening attack with his own hands.

Unfortunately, gravity gave Ash the edge, and so Iori was pushed to the ground, landing on his back with a grunt. Luckily, he still had strength and sense enough to kick Ash in the stomach, pushing the blonde away from him, and rolled forward to his feet, recovering nicely.

However, Ash was no slacker, and he landed fairly well himself, using his hands to steady his slide back. When Iori rushed him, he didn't hesitate to flare up his fire again, and swept his hand upwards, shooting a ball of green flames directly at Iori. The redhead kicked his foot down at an angle, dashing off to the side with ease to dodge, but couldn't repeat the feat when Ash shot another fireball that hit Iori dead in the face.

For all intents and purposes, though, it was as if the attack never hit. Roaring, Iori punched Crimson straight in the face, then the stomach, and tackled him to the ground, attacking him ferociously. The blows only stopped when Ash flared up a particularly nasty bubble of fire as a shield, which blew Iori away as a leaf in a storm. Before the redhead could so much as catch a breath, Ash bore down on him again, kicking and punching, green flames swirling, roaring, and screaming their curses into his ears.

Iori took a breath, a deep one, between the winces and the hits, and punched Ash in the stomach to push him away. He could feel his muscles burning and chest aching as he rolled to his feet and chased the blonde boy down, but his injuries didn't matter in the slightest at this juncture—all that was important was beating Ash into paste before his body ripped itself apart.

In the space of a few moments, Iori's hand flew forward, pinned Ash to the ground, and allowed the redhead to drop a hard elbow onto Ash's stomach, followed by several punches to the face.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to slow Ash down; the thin French boy replied with a two-fisted blow, summoning a blast of fire that sent Iori rocketing upwards, body swathed in green.

The crowd howled as Ash pointed his palms downwards and let off a huge burst of fire that shot him upwards, flying directly at Iori. When he found himself above the redhead, he used another burst of fire to rocket downwards, and struck Iori in the stomach with another flaming fist, forcing Iori back into the ground like a meteor.

"This battle is over," Ash proclaimed as he descended, literally positioned above Iori. "And you…have…lost."

With a final smile, he landed feet-first on Iori's chest, audibly breaking and cracking the Yagami scion's ribcage with little effort. To add insult to injury, he twisted his foot one last time before stepping off of his impromptu landing pad and walked away, not even bothering to look back.

He regretted that when Iori bull-rushed him, screaming hoarsely, "Playtime's over, you fruity scum," and by the time he turned, the redhead had elbowed him in the stomach and started slashing and cutting at his body like a wild animal.

"CRY! SCREAM! A-And…!"

Iori's hands trembled as he went in for the grab and final blow, but he refused to let himself stop, and lifted Ash up wide, ready to rip a nice "X" into the Frenchman's clothes…

But…somehow, he just couldn't do it.

He _wanted _to, no doubt, but…he just couldn't find the strength to manage.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked with a mocking sneer, ignoring the new wounds ripped into his chest and the like by Iori's clawing. "You should finish what you start, you know…."

"You…can go to hell," panted Iori in response, tensing his hands again. "And make sure you say hi to your mother while you're there."

With all the strength he had left, he drew his hands down and away, completing the tear and sending several streaks of blood straight into the air.

"DIE!"

* * *

Another hush fell over the crowd as Ash flew backwards and landed on the ground, seemingly insensate from the final blow; Iori's wheezing grew heavier but he didn't falter. Instead, he stared hatefully at Ash's body, assured that he'd delivered the true deathblow….

Mature looked on warily, wondering if Ash would get up or not—she could clearly see the rise and fall of his chest, but his chest _was _bleeding like a pump. Even if he hadn't just been murdered, he would need quite a bit of medical care to pull through what Iori had just done to him.

The debate ceased when after a moment of theatrical groans and moans, Ash got up again, swaying a bit but otherwise very assured in stance and manner.

"Ooh, that tingled," he said airily. "Actually, it still does! Who thought that your flameless power would be so…adequate?"

Iori didn't even have the energy to growl as he finally fell to a knee, and Ash's smile only grew more and more sinister.

"Looks like that was your last bit of it, though. That being the case…I think you should make your exit now."

He spread his arms wide, cloaked them in green flames, and swept them forward, fusing the individual fires into a giant, howling inferno. Iori didn't even have time to curse before it hit him dead-on and flushed him out of the ring, scorching his jacket, most of his shirt, and the lower cuff of his pants clean off.

Cammy's eyes widened as he hit the padding and continued to smolder listlessly in the green fire; murmurs of concern and fear raced through the audience as the medical team sprayed Iori down with fire extinguishers, carting him away once the embers had died down. Unhesitating, she ran after them, ignoring Chun-Li's cry of surprise as she nearly knocked over the bench in her haste.

"And the winner, is Ash Crimson…by near-immolation," Vice announced, privately hiding a smile.

_Suck on that, you murderous red-haired bastard, _she crowed in her mind. _Burned alive, just as you deserve—and when I get my hands on you, there'll be so much more I'll do to you for what you did to me!_

As her joy increased, a rumbling voice passed by her ears.

"Quit slacking off, lady. I'm here. Let's start the match."

Vice's eyes darted to her side, and to her surprise, Ken was standing there, stock still and staring at Ash with a hateful glare that could rival Ryu's most stoic glance.

"Sure, fine, whatever…," she snorted, hiding her surprise at his quick movement and poorly suppressed rage. "Get to your side, and I'll start it."

Ken did so without further comment, and when he settled into his stance, Ash finally deigned to return the hostile stare.

"Mr. Masters, is it? It'll be a pleasure."

"Yeah," the American concurred, sounding oddly conversational considering his expression and body language. "It'll be the best fight I've had in a while, especially when my fist is breaking your goddamn jaw into half a dozen pieces."

Ash blinked at the sudden shift in tone; Vice snapped her fingers and put up her right hand; and Ken, with a shout, was spin-kicking his way towards Ash.

"SENPUU KYAKU!"

* * *

Iori had just been placed onto a bed by the medics when Cammy nearly bowled them all over in her haste to see him; she was restrained in the nick of time by a larger man, about the size and build of Zangief and dressed in the white clothes of the medical staff.

"Hey, look, I can understand your concern, but he's not doing so well right now, you understand?" he grunted. "We've gotta stabilize him first."

"Fine, whatever," she snapped back, "but I'm not leaving. Try to force me and I'll bury you so deep that your bones will turn to diamonds."

The medic shrugged, then groaned as a loud THWAK-THWAK-THWAK-ing sound came from the ring; Cammy turned around to see Ken's feet connect in rapid succession with Ash's face, stunning the French lad quite handily.

"Probably dislocated that," the man continued. "We'll have to fix that later—get the cold compresses ready, boys," he added over his shoulder.

"Boss, this kid's still smoking, for God's sake. Think you could give us a little time to settle him?"

"Did I say 'Now"? I just said get 'em ready."

He turned back to the ring and set his teeth into a grimace.

"This one's gonna be REAL ugly."

* * *

From the moment Ken landed from his Senpuu Kyaku, he was pummeling Ash with hard jabs to the upper body and aiming at any part he could reach.

"It's bad enough—*grunt*—that you're a massive blonde prick of a Frenchman," he yelled out, putting an extra bit of _oomph _into a punch to the face. "But you burned the living sh_t out of my teammate and looked like you were—HYAH—getting off on it!"

The second punch, an uppercut, caught Crimson's already swelling jaw and stunned him again, leaving Ken some leeway to take a breath and sink into the familiar bounce of the Ansatsuken's primary stance.

"I know that crazies just love to enter these tournaments, but I draw the line when they use my friends as punching bags and toys!"

He took three firm steps forward and cocked his fist back, veins bulging in his arm; it seemed that Ash would take the hit full on, and was likely to pass out from the force of it.

Of course, that would have been too convenient and would have squashed his nose halfway into his face, and so the effeminate Frenchman pulled himself together in short order and grabbed the punch as it came in, countering with a blow of his own from his free hand.

"Sometimes you hit, sometimes you miss, and sometimes you just aren't good enough," he said to Ken with a smile. "C'est la vie, monsieur."

Before Ken recovered from the surprise attack, Crimson grabbed the American by the back of the head, and pulled him forward with a violent jerk; to add insult to injury, Crimson then extended his arm, clothes-lining Ken at the crook.

After a choked cry, Ken stumbled forward as Ash stepped aside; the Ansatsuken fighter did manage to land kneeling, but now Ash was already preparing another deathblow, and that was NOT good.

Without really thinking, Ken swiveled around, ignoring the sharp stab of pain that brought onto his head, and his right fist swirled with reddish-orange flames as he pumped _ki _into his legs for the next move he was intending to make.

"SHINRYU…REPPA!"

Ash's eyes widened, but he could do nothing as his fist was pushed away by Ken's rising uppercut. Shortly afterwards, his body was wracked with agony as Ken's flaming right hand smashed into his chin, not just once, but twice, in addition to carving into his chest and stomach—two flaming Shoryukens, end to end.

Then, the third Shoryuken—no, the Shinryuken—came…and pulled them both into the sky, in a swirling maelstrom of red flame. The only things Ash could feel aside from the spinning fist in his stomach was the PAIN and the BURNING that rushed over and around and through him like a battering ram—

And then, it ended.

Lazily, his body flipped over, and he finally saw where he was as the fire swirl faded away.

Ken's attack had put them both into the sky, but Ash was way, WAY higher up than Ken. The red-clad man's fist was still extended upwards, even though he was no longer in contact with Ash, and the flames that had surrounded him during the Shinryuken were still around him, but fading fast.

"Suck on that, ass-face," Ken growled upwards at him. "And if you screw with us again, I'll put a fist in your face so damn fast that you'll be dead before your nose breaks from the pressure."

When the Ansatsuken fighter landed, he didn't even wait for Ash's body to touch down before walking off and leaving the Frenchman to land on the ring's floor, outright unconscious. Ryu and Kyo met him as soon as he stepped down from it, and together, in wordless silence, they went to the medical tent.

Iori's condition, unexpectedly, had improved quickly in the short span of time he'd been left on the medical beds. Cammy, joined by Chun-Li and Mary, were sitting beside the bed, quietly watching him; Cammy's face was really and truly stony, almost hatefully irritated.

"…If that fruity wanker isn't coming in here with three broken arms, I'll break YOU into atoms of dust," she said lowly, her hands clenched.

"No, I've taken care of him. Not as messily as you would have liked, I'm sorry to say, but he won't be walking out of here easily tonight."

Cammy's gaze tightened, but she only nodded in acceptance of the news. In short order, the object of her hatred was dumped unceremoniously onto the spare bed, and the medics set themselves upon him frantically, bandaging and patching him up wherever they could.

Iori groaned suddenly, drawing the attention of the others, and struggled to look at Ash. Wordlessly, he took the man's beaten face and body into account, and then slowly raised a quaking hand.

"Who…kicked his ass?"

Ken extended his palm, answering the question without words, and Iori grabbed it tightly for a brief moment, then let go and gave a thumbs-up.

"You're…pretty good for a rich…fop."

"Hey, I worked hard, man. My master Gouken used to run me and Ryu into the ground…hell, he still does."

Cammy looked over to the head medic, her eyes still sharp and cool. "Will these two be leaving here tonight or are they being moved to a hospital?"

"Well, they're recovering pretty fast, all told. Maybe because they weren't slinging around real flames out there, I'd say, but they should at least functional. You all can stay while we finish up and take 'em home."

"Iori is the only one with us," Ryu corrected politely. "We can't be responsible for…Mr. Crimson."

"I see. In that case, HE'S going to a hospital. 'Scuse us while we make some arrangements."

The staff bandaging Crimson perked up at that, and followed the head medic out of the tent. As soon as they were gone, Iori lurched upwards, pushed Cammy and the others that were standing between him and Ash out of the way, and lumbered over to his opponent, holding his right hand up.

"I'm taking my Magatama back," he rasped.

Cammy stepped forward, eyes flaring with rage-fueled Psycho Power. "Iori, what are you—"

Without a word, Iori slammed his hand down on Crimson's chest, quickly leaning in to cover the French lad's mouth with his free one. Ash jerked up but made no sound, and a purple-orange light began to seep from his chest and into Iori's arm.

The redhead visibly relaxed as the glow intensified, and then gradually died out; his shoulders straightened, his breathing eased, and his eyes cleared up, gaining a piercing light in the reddish-brown of his irises. In time, he withdrew from Ash, and snapped his hand out palm-up, fingers curled; a ball of purple-orange fire lit up an inch above the palm, and he smiled.

Not a smirk, mind you. A smile. A real smile, as if he'd just found a suitcase full of money. Or just gotten married.

"It's back," he said. "And I am not letting him take it from me again."

He raised the fireball, and for a moment, everyone got ready to spring on him if necessary …but, surprisingly, he didn't do what they expected; instead, he extinguished the flame, and left.

"One of you call Chizuru and tell her that Crimson's going to the hospital," he said. "I need to take a leak."

In continued silence, the group looked at Ash, then back up at the entrance of the tent, and then back down at Ash.

"He was _smiling_," Chun-Li murmured in shock. "And he didn't kill Crimson. What the hell is going on here?"

"His flame was turning _orange,_" Kyo said to himself, visibly intrigued. "I guess he meant what he said after all."

"What he said about what?" Cammy asked sharply, turning Kyo to face her.

The brunet grinned, and shook off Cammy's grip with a playful and loose shrug.

"About changing. And before you even ask me why, I've got to say this—it's not my business to tell you. It's his."

* * *

Author's Notes

Hey, guys. This one took a while to get right, so that's why it took so long. Writer's block is a right b*tch, I can tell you that much to be sure.

Plus, I got Pokemon SoulSilver recently, and...yeah.

I put more effort into this than I did the gaiden; it may not be out for a while at this rate but I'm still working on it.

Most importantly, holy crap I made it to 20 chapters! To those that have continued to show up and review, I thank you so, so much. You guys rock!

Next time:

Another day greets the teams, and the rivalry between Thailand's tiger and Japan's dragon is given its chance to reach resolution. Will Team Ansatsuken come out on top, or will Muay Thai take its day in the sunlight?

Find out in The King of Street Fighters, Chapter 21: "Thunder and Genocide".

Till next time!

~Zero-Sennin


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